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A Holistic Journal Celebrating & Supporting LIFE! Feb/Mar 2010
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Attending To Our Physical Vessel
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Volume 8, No. 5
Inner
Tapestry Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
u Immunity, Part Two
u Wandering Sage Wisdom ~ Remember To Breathe
u My Body, This Land
u Destination Healing SNE ~ Windows On The Soul...
u Eating... The Angel Way
u Modern Shamanic Living ~ A Better State of Mind...
u Bridging the Worlds ~ The Evolutionary Shift
u Loving Earth ~ Won't You Try This Lovely Organic Apple?
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Inner TAPESTRY
This Issue's Theme
Contents
Attend ing To O u r P hys ical V e sse l
A Holistic Journal Celebrating & Supporting LIFE!
Features
June /J ul y 2010 G o o d Vibratio ns
Au gust /S e p te m b e r 2 0 1 0 Awak ening Hu m a n Po tentia l
O c tob e r /N ove m b e r 2 0 1 0 What M oves Yo u ?
D ecem b e r /J a nua r y 2 0 1 0 I t ' s A Wo nder f u l L ife!
Bridging The Worlds ~ The Evolutionary Shift Oh, To Live As Deeply Self-Accepting As A Tree
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Page
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by Debra Rainbow Heart
Healthy Food Options
Page 13
by Laurie Charpentier
Eating... The Angel Way...
Page 18
by Annie Kelleher and Karen M. Rider
Practicing Safety First With Our Pets
Page 21
by Donald and Sara Hassler
Immunity? Part Two
Page 26
by Ron Damico
My Body, This Land
Page 27
by Megan Don
Departments
Li v ing Wit ho u t D ef initio n
February 25th
Page
by Amorandre'a
Awareness and the Art of Seeing ~ Love of Trees
Page
9
by Jen Deraspe
Destination Healing SNE ~ Windows On The Soul ~ The Visionary Art of Leanne Peters
Page 10
Modern Shamanic Living ~ A Better State of Mind by Evelyn C. Rysdyk (Body & Spirit)
Page 16
A Breath of Healing ~ How Does Yoga Tend To Your by Donna Amrita Davidge Physical Vessel?
Page 17
Loving Earth ~ Won't You Try This Lovely Organic Apple?
Page 19
by Karen M. Rider
by Pat Foley
21st Century Boheman ~ Creating and Holding Space for by Teresa Piccari One Another
Page 20
Wandering Sage Wisdom ~ Remember To Breathe
Page 23
by Aaron Hoopes
Welcome Home ~ Ask Asrianna
Page 28
by Asrianna Dameron
Feng Shui & Geopathology ~ Geopathology
Page 29
by Werner Brandmaier
The Way of Life-Itself ~ No Single System of Health-Care Can by Norm Hirst Address The Infinite Variety Of Life.
Page 30
Exploring the World Religions ~ Contemplative Silence ~ by James Bean The Art of Tapping Into Our Source Of Inner Wisdom and Guidance.
Page 31
Mixed Media ~ Book, Website & Music Reviews
Pages 46-47
Directories
Directory of Resources Yoga, T'ai Chi, & Meditation Directory Heart Visions, Calendar of Events, Classifieds
Pages 32-40 Page 40 Pages 42-44
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Ar tic le S ub m i ssi on D ate Fo r Apr i l /M ay 2010 I s s u e
Feb/Mar 2010
4 Northeast TRAGER® Neuromuscular Re-education and Mentastics/Mindful Movement Freedom of Movement is the Foundation of a Healthy Body A H olistic Journal
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Celebrating & Supporting LIFE!
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Welcome to Inner Tapestry OUR EXPRESSION OF INTENTION: As we weave from within, we begin the
creation of the outward expression and celebration of our own unique tapestry. Our intention is to provide a pathway of support for all seeking the awareness of living a conscious life by creating and supporting a network of connection within the holistic community and its practitioners. The journal is advertiser-supported. It can be found in businesses and services that promote complementary healing, and who support cultural, environmental and educational needs, where ideas of conscious living and integrative wholeness are welcomed and nourished. In our eighth year as a Holistic Journal celebrating and supporting the exploration of life, we have become a leading voice for people in their discovery of holistic health, natural living and spiritual wisdom and insight.
AVAILABLE IN MORE THAN 500 LOCATIONS Distributed bimonthly (six times a year) this free publication is filled with carefully selected inspiring and informative articles promoting conscious life choices that lead to a higher quality of life, unity within one's self and community and a greater experience of spirit! Our distribution area spans throughout Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts with over 500 locations. If you would like copies placed at your business or location please contact us. Inner Tapestry is a great resource for your family, friends, clients and customers.
SEE YOUR ADVERTISEMENT IN INNER TAPESTRY SIX WAYS TO ADVERTISE Throughout Inner Tapestry's pages are the Display Ads. Toward the back of the journal you will find the Directory of Resources, a comprehensive listing of practitioners and descriptions of their services. Immediately following you will find our Calendar of Events and the Classified section. The fifth method is the Yoga, T'ai Chi, Aikido & Meditation Practitioners Directory, with a listing of styles and forms available for study. Our online website is the sixth way to advertise, with a side banner Display Ad or an online Directory of Resource Ad. For ad size and pricing information visit www.innertapestry.org or call 207-799-7995. For those who need ad design, we offer a service to create a distinct way for you to present your business. To our readers, we would like to ask everyone to take the opportunity to email our columnists, feature writers, artists and advertisers with comments, suggestions and information inquiries. They all are extremely wonderful and dedicated individuals who look forward to hearing from you. We also look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions as we all continue to evolve and grow together. Articles are for information only and do not constitute medical advice. Please obtain written permission before reproducing any part of this publication. All rights reserved. ® 2010.
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www.trager-northeast.org Marlena O'Hagan-Buzzell Virginia Reidy kmbuzzell@roadrunner.com vr45traveler@hotmail.com 207 212-7721 207 734-8132 / 904-874-4896 Liz Berks lizland@roadrunner.com 207 839-2333 "Experience your vision of living life with more ease in your body, peace of mind and a sense of emotional well-being; The Trager Approach, Mind/Body Integration."
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Showing of Infinity The Ultimate Trip Beyond Death, Starring John Holland 6:30 PM at the Freeport Leapin' Lizards, Call for Reservations $7.50 (FMI: see page 15)
INNER WORKINGS New this Issue: Welcome everyone to this new decade of 2010. I am in awe that I am sitting at my computer writing this sharing, feeling like it was just yesterday, then having the feelings that years have gone by since our last issue. Our wish is that 2010 will bring to everyone the opportunity to embody all that we truly are.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA (might be case sensitive) This video is a reminder that "everything" is in every thing. This wonderful example of how perception is our key and our willingness to see things in a different way is what will unlock what keeps us from happiness and changing the world we live in. That something so simple as this video once again shows us our power of creation. Take a minute, watch and experience life, choice and awesome inspiration. In this issue there are events beckoning us to leave the warmth of our homes to find the warmth of connection and friendship. The upcoming season of what I call "pre-spring," instead of the "dead of winter" brings the stirring of activity and new beginnings. Mother earth is once again at the beginning of her rebirth, though not seen to us on her surface, settling into a gentle heart space the subtle inner earth activity can be felt. Can you remember the year 2000, when most of us felt 2012 was so far away, concerned over the Y2K issues and the realization that we would continue... We are just around that next anticipated corner, realizing a most interesting time in humanity. So many things are being experienced in such short times, technology is yet advancing faster than some can or want to keep up with. We are growing spiritually/energetically faster than ever and our physical vessels do process through our growth as well. People are saying that things will continue to come into our lives at a quickened pace, so it is important to continue to create the time and space in our lives to tend to our physical vessels in a loving and gentle way. We will, if given the opportunity, find new and exciting ways to care for ourselves on all levels finding the support and guidance to "live" the joy that we truly are. Let's find those new perceptions of life and share our continued growth. I have been blessed many times with connecting with some extraordinary people, once again one is our featured artist Jeff Haworth. His life's journey has not been an easy one in his physical vessel, but his journey has brought him to the awakening of some awesome talent, both in his art and his ability to reach out to help others through their struggles and challenges of their human vessels. Take a visit to the On The Cover section on page 15. One last thing to share, one of our readers and friend in Massachusetts sent me some pictures, something that she has done with her children for many years, to play and find the joy of winter, check it out on page 9.
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I just received an email from a friend in Florida to check out a YouTube video— whatever did we do without YouTube! AARP conducted a contest, as the email goes, it was titled "U @ 50" and a 20 year-old responded with the most wonderful video. One point for YouTube! This video is a palindrome, which is something that reads the same forwards and backwards, like madam, level, kayak and racecar. Stay with it all the way through. Though they are sentences you'll get the drift on the way back. It is only 1 minute and 44 seconds, but it is an inspiring 104 seconds.
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Bridging the Worlds -
The Evolutionary Shift By Amorandre’a
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e are on the verge of a huge evolutionary leap in human consciousness. As we move from a duality-based reality into unity and wholeness, we must address all aspects of beings, including the parts we do not see. As we merge our lives and ourselves into this greater reality it is necessary to create an entry point. This place exists beyond judgment, right/wrong and good or bad. Here there is no “story” of how we are victims. We are a no-thing. We are in uncharted territory. This is the point where most of us stand up, look around and say: what have I been doing all this work for? Who am I now? Uhh… Um? No it’s not the spiritual mid-life crisis. You have moved into the Darkness. This is not an eerie place of monsters and unseen or missing parts of you. This is a place of pure creative energy and the substance of all that exists. So what do we do? Well, that is what I am here to teach. This is a precise evolutionary process in which we merge your dual selves and realities. For the purposes of this article I am talking about an evolutionary shift in consciousness, which moves humanity from a 3rd- and 4th-dimensional expression into a 5th-dimensional expression. Within each dimensional shift the rules change. It’s hard to know where we are, much less where we are going and what we need to be doing to move forward. In a duality-based reality there are a lot of rules. Basically, we have been living in duality for a very long time. In that time we created many structured or non-structured belief systems and many things happened that we were not completely conscious of and we created many parallel realities and archetypical experiences. Everything not existing in this moment or that is of a mind-created reality is the 4th-dimension and is held within the subconscious mind and on an atomic level in our bodies. In order to move into a 5th-dimensional, non-duality based reality, we have to let go of our 4th-dimensional beliefs and stories; move them from our bodies at an atomic level as well as the subconscious and conscious levels. So this is where we are now. We hear a lot of talk these days about Quantum Physics. A quantum is simply something that is measurable. So Quantum Physics is a way of measuring physical reality. But what scientists proved long ago is that physical reality does not exist. Everything is just space. What we see is a hologram. As it turns out, space is where the action is. It is the place of pure creative energy. It is the field from which all things are created. What does this mean to us? Everything. If you did not have to rely on anything outside yourself for your sustenance and could create whatever you desired, what would that look like? Where would you put your energy if it were not on surviving? How open would your mind be to inspiration? Because we are so conditioned to think about our survival it is difficult to even imagine what life would be like. You may say, what would happen if maniacal minds access this power? This is an internal process and no one enters the 5th-dimensional field, the field of full potentiality, without being clear. It simply cannot be done. This is not about controlling others; it is about becoming your authentic self and a conscious creator in your reality. This energy never has been available to anyone who is not in harmony with the whole. If you are in your power and fully creating from this harmonic field of full potentiality there is no reason to get anything from anyone else. You don’t need anything. Anything that is shared is freely given. Yes, there is a collective, but the collective is informed individually by its own God-self and that God-self always contemplates the whole because it is the whole and would not do otherwise. The difference between 3rd-dimensional reality and 5th-dimensional reality is that we have cleared all our beliefs and realities that are not in harmony with the whole of who we actually are. The subconscious thoughts, emotions and beliefs have cleared all the way to the atomic level so subconscious or genetic patterning does not influence us. What happens when our thoughts are in harmony with our God-self and the 4th-dimensional debris is gone? Well, on a quantum level we are sitting at zero point, which is right on top of the field of full potentiality or the quantum field. The diagram, at the top of the next column, gives a loose visual of what happens as we clear our beliefs. Notice how the electron and scalar wave travel side by side for a moment. The energy of each field becomes the exact equal to the other. This is where time collapses. It seems like nothing exists at zero point but as the lens clears we see that we are on the field of full potentiality or the Quantum field. Very basically, we are setting intention or consciously informing the field on the level of the electron or physical level. Collapsing time, which involves clearing all beliefs, which exist in time and which stand between our intention and what is. When that field collapses, we move into pure creation. This is part of the process, a part that we have always done, but for the most part unconsciously. Mastering these 6 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
steps is mastering 3rdNeutrino Wave – sub-atomic particles dimensional reality and moving faster than the speed of light becoming a creator on Stepped Down that level of reality. The next step is about moving When traveling at speed of light, they into the 5th-experience, are photons. which is non-linear and Stepped Down far less structured. When traveling slower than the speed First we must of light, they are electrons choose it. This is a cocreative reality: we are As this wave slows, time collapses. operating individually And creates a Scalar wave-nonin cooperation with electromagnetic field that transmits the collective, and that Quantum Field information and/or other forms of part of us who sees the consciousness and it is independent whole. We are operating of space and time. in harmony with all that What drives the stepping down process? Our intention. is and nothing is created –Thom Rogers' interview on Conscious Media Network that is not in harmony with the flowering of the earth and her inhabitants. Choose it or lose. This reality is transforming. You don’t have to go. But frankly, this is what we have been longing for, is it not? So make your choice and set the intention of moving into it fully. We begin the process by locating our vibrant dream from the seeds of our past experiences in 3rd-dimensional reality to plant them in the field of full potentiality. Once that seed is planted into the Dream Field we infuse it or over-light it with Greater Heart Activation. This magnetizes our being to our Vibrant Dream within the Greater Reality and we begin the process of raising our vibration to match that field or Reality. In order to collapse the field between the 3rd-dimensional level and the 5th- dimensional level, everything within us that does not vibrate at a 5th-dimensional level has to go. That means every conscious and subconscious thought, belief and story is up for review. If it is not a matching vibration, well, we have to de-program it. We allow ourselves to be informed and act on that information without moving back into our old stories and habits. The 4th-dimension completely collapses. It is a balancing act. Sometimes we feel blank and don’t know what to do. And that is because before anything else can happen, we have more clearing to do, or we are waiting for other components of the picture to arrive—perhaps other beings who will fit into our picture. Remember we still have the ability to create 3rd-dimensionally, and as long as it is in harmony with the whole and with your own soul’s evolutionary process you’ll still be able to create. So check in. Ask questions. Mastering and letting go of 4th-dimensional energy is a challenge. This is a process of conscious intention. We have no subconscious in the Greater Reality. This is not an intellectual process. In the context of the Greater Reality our minds do not immediately grasp what is ego- or duality-based and what is not. We will have to allow ourselves to be informed about what is ego and what is not. There are so many levels of patterning that it would be very difficult to get through it all in one lifetime without help. Also, we have patterning at an atomic level, which needs to be de-programmed and informed. We, the "us" that is here consciously expressing, are very involved in this process and it can be very difficult and confusing and at times overwhelming. But honestly, we have so much help. We really do. And the process itself inspires us into awareness, understanding, compassion and unity. We are charged with the task of permanently collapsing the field of duality and moving fully into the new paradigm. We need each others help. There is not one of us who does not hold the story of another in his cells. What we don’t face will just keep coming back until we do face it. What we judge imprisons us. We can move through this together and move forward as a whole. It will be finished when the last one of us is free. None of us will be completely free until all of us are free. We are one being in flight. This is the truth. Try not to cage it. This is a constantly evolving picture. Fluid, Feminine and attached to nothing but the moment, and the fully embodied One Being in Flight. Amorandre’a has served as an Evolutionary Healer since the early 90’s when she was first informed with energy from our newly acti-vated Earth. She took part in the ceremonial activation, which signaled the end of duality and the beginning of this New Era. She is someone who speaks from experience, who does not put on airs but who genuinely came by her wisdom. She will begin offering Intensive Workshops on this process at the beginning of 2010. More information regarding the Intensives is available on her website www.dolphinheart.net or you may reach her by phone (707)498-4270 or dolphinheart144@gmail.com.
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Oh, To Live As Deeply Self-Accepting As A Tree! by Debra Rainbow Heart
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everal years ago while taking a winter walk in the woods, I was admiring the naked trees, noticing all the sizes and shapes, and seeing forms that reminded me of human arms, legs, breasts and buttocks. As I admired the trees in their nakedness, I laughed out loud, at the realization of how totally non-judgmental nature is. There is no shame in large sagging trunks, or deeply wrinkled bark. Every gnarled branch and twig had its own beauty, strength and elegance. It was a momentary epiphany, as to how judgmental we often are of our bodies… and how freeing it would be to live as deeply self-accepting as a tree!
Practicing Gratitude – When we practice the “attitude of gratitude,” our life flows so much more harmoniously. Yet how often do we take the time to actually thank our body for the miracle it is? For all the wondrous things it does for us, whatever “shape” we’re in, whatever health challenges we’re facing, our physical being is one deserving of our love and respect. So let us offer prayers of gratitude to our physical body which is gifting us with this life on Planet Earth at this time in her story. Making Mindful Choices – We do not have to promise to give up chocolate, or never eat ice cream again (at least not today!). But let’s make mindful choices. Mindful eating. Mindful exercise. Mindful stillness. And when what we “want” does not really serve the health of our physical vessel, let’s take a deep breath and ask “Why”?…. “Am I lonely, bored, afraid? “and listen for the answer, and then ask,” What other than food would serve me here?”... And listen again for your body’s wise reply. Fasting and Detoxing – While we need to listen to our body, (and our health care practitioner), fasting and detoxing are among the most important steps we can take to restore or boost our health… and one of the most challenging for many. Done sensibly, it’s possible to enjoy the benefits of more energy and mental clarity even during a one-day fast. There can also be some discomforts and emotional processing as toxic energies clear the body. Recent studies indicate that fasting just one day per month, can dramatically improve longevity and health in those extended years. As we fast or detoxify from food, (alcohol, sugar, caffeine, etc.), we can also consider detoxing from television, internet, newspapers, magazines, radio and people or places that drain our energies. Notice how you feel after a day, a week, a month… and how much clearer your inner voice is when there is space for it to enter our awareness! Feeding Our Rainbow Body—Nature has gifted us with nourishing foods in all the colors of the rainbow. By deepening our commitment to eat from nature’s color wheel of fresh foods… and to supplement that colorful food with local foods of our region that provide antioxidants and rich nutrients – such as cranberries, blueberries, pine needle or rose hip teas, and homegrown or locally grown herbal remedies—we nurture our physical body while living more sustainably on the planet. Nurturing All Five Senses Here in New England – Winter deprives us of the company of the sun, its warmth, and the plant kingdom. But treating our senses and our bodies with pure plant essential oils (aromatherapy) and flower essences can be deeply healing and nourishing. One or two oils can uplift our spirits and sooth the physical stresses in our body. Some wonderful and affordable oils include Lavender, Rosemary, Peppermint, Bergamot, and Geranium. The oils reach the deep limbic region of our brain through our sense of smell. Applying the oils requires touch… and sacred touch feeds our mind, body and soul. Meanwhile, flower essences offer subtle yet powerful support for making the energetic shifts that inform and support our physical well-being. Winter is the season of stillness and quiet if we choose. Or perhaps we need the stimulation of peaceful music or the enlivening rhythms of the drum. The appreciation of all our senses awakens our connection to the sensuousness, tenderness and beauty bestowed to us through our body. Sacred Movement and Celebration – Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, and Dances for Universal Peace are among the many practices, that help us engage with our bodies
Creative Expression – As humans we’ve been gifted with a deep desire to create. Whether it's arts, crafts, music, dance, writing, preparing a wonderful meal, knitting a sweater, writing a letter or a poem… creative expression is a hallmark of what makes us at our best—human. Winter is a wonderful time to explore a forgotten or hidden talent… or an interest… whether we think we have talent or not… why not attend that drum circle, sign up for that pottery class, or get out the paints that are stashed in the attic! Each of us has our unique vibration to offer the world and we all shine brighter by sharing our gifts with the world! Connecting With Nature – Winter is a special time to enjoy nature in her tranquility and stillness, and in her raw power and beauty. Walking in a brisk wind, during a snow storm or on a bright sparkling winter day, lifts our energies and clears our mind. The fresh air in our lungs is invigorating, and a romp through the snow gets our juices flowing. Taking time to appreciate the intricate beauty of ice crystals, following animals tracks in the snow, listening to the rattle of dead leaves, or the creak of trees swaying in the wind; watching the colors of the sunset reflected in the snow, or hearing the melody of a winter stream gurgling through ice and snow… are poems written in the memories of our heart. And always, there are signs of life’s renewal – as every twig and branch has already set its leaf bud… waiting to burst forth in the spring. Forming Community – As we embrace this journey to honor our physical vessel that is also home to our earthly spirit, let’s join hands. Let’s share our challenges, our successes, our wisdom and our frailties with friends, family or colleagues. Let’s form circles or gatherings to help us explore mindful eating or fasting; nurturing our senses, or creative expression; let’s sometimes barter our gifts creatively so money need not be the only means of energy exchange. Let’s support each other in this journey of embodiment… and release judgments of ourself and others… let’s dance the dance of life with joy and gratitude – whatever our size, our shape, our age, our gender… lets love, accept and support ourselves and each other as completely as the naked trees of the forest on a winter’s day. Namaste, Debra.
Debra Rainbow Heart is a medicine woman, shamanic and energy medicine practitioner, ceremonialist, musician and visionary artist. She is a Full Mesa Carrier in the Andean shamanic tradition, and a steward of the Nine Rites of the Munay-Ki. Her professional training includes the Healing the Light Body School of The Four Winds Society, founded by Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D.; core shamanism studies with faculty from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and 650 hour RPP level studies in Polarity Therapy. She has been honored to study and share ceremony with indigenous elders – including the Q’ero shamans of Peru. She offers groups, ceremonies, classes and mentorships in Maine, New England, the Southwest and where Spirit calls. FMI Please visit www.rainbowheartshaman.com or contact Debra at: info@rainbowheartshaman.com , or 59 Salmon Falls Road, Buxton, ME, 04093, (207) 929-6776.
The Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce is looking for Holistic Practitioners for the 2010 Wellness Fair in Yarmouth, ME. April 10th 10:00 AM ~ 3:00 PM
Rowe Elementary School, School St., Yarmouth, ME
Contact: Doug Reighley at 207-749-1961 Email: dareighley@suscom.maine.net Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 7
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As we embark on this New Year, many of us feel called to deepen our attention, care and nurturing of our physical vessel. As with every journey, we can only take the next step from where we presently find ourselves. Perhaps, if our relationship to our physical body has been a “struggle,” we can set a new intention to transform that struggle into a “dance.” Our body practices serve us best when they align with our inner knowing and deep wisdom. My “body practice” is as imperfect as any… yet I begin to feel glimmers of a deeper wisdom, grace and power flowing from deep within this vessel. I offer you these threads of body practice, to weave into yours, in whatever ways will nourish your physical being and becoming.
mindfully while honoring them as sacred vessels for Spirit. We can engage these practices gently from wherever we are… the key is to start… and develop a regular practice… even once a week reaps wonderful benefits! It’s important to have fun… and moving to music for the sheer pleasure of it is another way to celebrate being in our bodies – and something we can do at no cost, in the privacy of our home or share with friends. For the more adventuresome, belly dancing or folk dancing are great exercise, and offer community and laughter as well.
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Awareness and the Art of Seeing: Contemplations on the environment and interconnection by Jen Deraspe
Love of Trees I love trees, and by that I mean I love using them with permission and respect, as needed, with gratitude, seeing the support and beauty in those standing and in realizing the generous sacrifice from those transformed into paper, heat, walls. Yet, sometimes, I still shudder at the over-filled logging truck as it drives past. And, I remind myself that I can’t know the logging truck did not provide the trees for this paper receiving my words or the shelter I live in. I just can’t know. We are all a part of the “machine” and we are all a part of the re-balancing. My dream would be for us to grow this beautiful region into a renewable resource. Imagining and asking for green growth, visionary growth, sustainable growth, ecological growth equally valued and tied with economical growth and development. Could the power lines that part the forest seas fill in with trees again—fields of solar panels mixed amongst the apple trees... Trees, a renewal resource—every time I study the lines and light bouncing off their skins—this renews me. It renews me to rest in their shade, leaning against solid trunk. It renews me to experience the warmth from their bodies as they burn in the woodstove, warming this body on this cold winter day. Jen Deraspe, owner of Nurture Through Nature, is a holistic retreat facilitator and facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie. She lives off the grid on Pleasant Mountain in Denmark, Maine. www.ntnretreats.com, getaway@ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
Nurture Through Nat ure
Let Us Guide You Home... Pleasant Mountain, Denmark, ME
Yes, these are bubbles!
They are frozen winter bubbles, What a great treat to find the conditions just right to create such wonderful works of art! So spend some time outside blowing bubbles and see what works of art you and winter can create! Photos courtesy of Joan Debenedictis
Thanks, Joan, for the pictures!
Photos courtesy of Joan Debenedictis Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 9
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I grew up barefoot, running through the trails that ran alongside a small pond in western Maine. Unless it was raining, I was in that old bathing suit until it was time to put on my pajamas. I swung from tree to tree, Jennifer of the Jungle! One of my favorite things to do was to climb that old leaning White Birch to the rope swing. Jumping
out to reach the topknot I held on with all my might until the slack took hold, dropping and dangling over earth, rocks and finally cold, clear water. At just the perfect moment, suspended at the peak, I would release off the end of that Tarzan swing into the spring-fed mountain pond. You could say trees were in my blood. I see their elegance, their stillness, and the way they fill the spaciousness around and above me. I love the way they cast shadows and receive light. In the open fields, I appreciate how, when given this room and space to expand, they grow in perfect symmetry. Because of this love I ended up feeling anger when I saw my first clear-cut. I wanted to go to extremes to stop the madness. Growing up in a paper mill town, I started to see the smoke stacks differently. I got fearful. I became an ecoterrorist of sorts; searching out ways to sabotage operations, punish the perpetrators, force them to see it my way! I hiked up the Appalachian Trail along the Bemis range just north of our family camp, my old stomping grounds. It was surrounded by clear-cuts. I wanted to do something about this, heart filled with fear and anger. Then a wise friend of mine asked me to see the logger in me. I sat in a clear-cut for a very long time and got very quiet. I saw the life there, I saw growth there, and I saw how I was related to the logger, to the machine that hummed in the background of my childhood home. I got humble. I watch myself cut trees down, chop them up and burn them, converted into fuel to warm my bones.
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d estina tio n h e al i n g ~ s ou t h e r n n ew en g l a n d
Windows on the Soul: The Visionary Art of Leanne Peters
by Karen M. Rider
Griswold, Connecticut
“One of the magical things about art is the many ways it connects us to our Source, opening our eyes and revealing who we really are,” explains visionary artist and illustrator, Leanne Peters. Visionary art is that which enchants us back into balance, helping us align the stories we tell ourselves with the story intended for us to bring forth into the world. Some artists like Alan Lee, illustrator of the Lord of the Rings books and films, bring stories off the page and into life. Leanne Peters, though, is a storyteller in the guise of artist.
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Her body of work, aptly named Inner World Illustration, carries us into a story beyond our ordinary lives, into the space between the light and the dark, between emotion and intellect, between human and divine. Some element draws you into this space, this world—a spiral, an expression, an animal’s gaze, the curve of light or the depth of darkness— then leaves you free to discover, even write, the story with your eyes and imagination. Each time you gaze upon one of her pieces, the story changes. You discover new characters, visit different places, embrace new thoughts and experience different emotions. “Inner World is just another way of saying imaginary. Beyond the physical, there is a world that contains thoughts and feelings an individual can see in their own sacred way. The images often ‘break the rules’ of what we experience and know outwardly, allowing full control (and responsibility) of the story. I like the idea of ‘world’ in the name because there are many beings and entities, many perspectives and emotions in this space for TheHeartofInfinity me; all are interdependent on each other to exist. Connections are key to me.” Leanne is a self-proclaimed “terrible student” but sitting with her is to be in the presence of a soul wise beyond her years. She embraces All That Is with a lightness of being and a depth of understanding that immediately embraces those in her company—not unlike the intelligence and emotion evoked in her art. “The thought-feeling relationship intrigues me,” she tells me while sipping tea, the golden light of a late fall afternoon cascading across her chestnut hair. “In this moment, I can think one thing and have one feeling; in the next moment, I change my thought and experience a different emotion. I sense a relationship between thought and feeling that is beyond the five senses. The art rises from the ether and manifests on the paper.” 10 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
DISCOVERING HER TALENT “It all started with a pencil and piece of paper. My dad could draw a bit and there were visual artists in my extended family,” Leanne says of her foray into illustration and design. Leanne “tried painting many times” but felt it was a “less intimate medium” for her work. “Pencil is... where I feel the deepest connection,” she says with a soft smile. Most artists develop their skills by copying the masters. Leanne was no different in that respect. In her early studies of master artists, she aspired to accuracy, emphasizing precision and clarity. Skills that are evident in the way Leanne renders emotionally charged detail – human, animal, or landscape—in her own work.
path in medical illustration. She had an interest in, and aptitude for, science, so it seemed a “natural way to combine her skills.” Following graduation from Rochester Institute of Technology, she started her career in pharmaceutical illustration. Leanne only spent a year in pharmaceutical illustration before venturing into corporate advertising design. Still, she is able to shine a light on a gift born of her experience. “Medical illustration requires a visual translation of the detail and delicacy of organic tissues. I developed a great appreciation for life—its simplicity and complexity.”
Power To Grow
Her studies along with the integration of these two paths of experience became the foundation from which Leanne would realize that “clarity and accuracy are held within the eye of the beholder.”
TURNING POINT / AHA MOMENT BlessedMother
Despite the differences in content, she is a “huge fan” of the technique Norman Rockwell used in illustrating an idealized 20th century America. Observing her art, one sees that her content has more in common with that of another master, John W. Waterhouse. “He was known for mystical renditions of romance and the femme fatale, concepts that also intrigue me.” She easily shares her respect for other great artists including Alan Lee, Mary Grand Pré* and Kinuko Y. Craft. “I am in awe of Lee’s ability to reveal life-like qualities in the most mystical beings and places. I am enchanted with Grand Pré’s imaginative work in pastels. [I love] the way she applies color and brings forth unique, dynamic perspectives... to tell a mysterious or magical story.” This vibrant artist has studied well and the lessons learned she has translated into her own interpretation of light, color and depth. In the collections, Earth Magick II and Hidden Worlds, one quickly appreciates Peters’ ability to create a visual story that does not interfere with the viewer/observer’s imagination. However, the journey to visionary artist did not come quickly for Leanne. Noting the depth of detail in her illustrations, her high school teachers encouraged Leanne to follow a career
“After a number of years in advertising, and going through my own struggles, I felt drawn to exploring what could be felt beyond that which can be substantiated by the five senses,” she shares. Though she does not reveal the details of her “struggles,” she mentions working extensively with “the journey out of despair.” “I’ve rebelled. I’ve complained. I’ve resisted and I’ve asked ‘Why?’” she casually admits, “At some point, I realized there are two ways to ask that question. The first is full of blame and suffering. The second way is soulful; it’s a process of seeking answers with intelligence and emotion. When a person is in this place authentically, insight comes through the ether and healing occurs.”
Release of Fear
"Release of Fear" is one work through which the artist is reflecting the inner meaning behind life challenges. Such "inner meaning" is something she has culled not only from challenges faced, but also from selfstudy in philosophy, psychology, and energy healing.
“Several influential people in the holistic and metaphysical fields opened my ‘inner eyes’ to the power of thought, intention and emotion in healing and feeling well. I am in awe of the power of the imagination and what it can do to help people heal,” she added.
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Storytelling and the healing process had a strong pull on her as an illustrator—on what she most wanted to manifest through art. Leanne’s journey as visionary artist began.
11 INNERWORLDS: PROCESS & CONCEPTS For Leanne, working in pencil allows the work to evolve at its own pace, which is important to her creative process. She explains: “I begin with a black-and-white line drawing that manifests into a constantly shifting visual journey for the observer-participant. Shading is added gradually through lines. The tooth and integrity of the board (Bristol: Vellum) is preserved as much as possible to hold the color yet to come. The drawing and shading is then sealed with white colored pencil and layers of colored pencil are glazed on, layer by layer; further rendering, modeling and detail added to completion.” Common to all of Leanne’s collections, in particular pieces such as "Snow Day" and "World Beyond," is a stunning use of color, texture and composition, feeling and fantasy that bathes the observer in magical tranquility. Her illustrations give rise to memories, dreams and wishes as the images come to life within the world she has created. This rare talent places Leanne in the company of another rare talent, the "imaginary realist," Kinuko Craft. Craft is a remarkable artist, equally wellknown for precision and depth as she is for the jewel-like luminosity in her depictions of mythical creatures and fantastical places. I tell Leanne that I see many similarities between WorldBeyond her work and that of Craft: The mystical feminine and Celtic influences, ethereal and animal guides, and imaginary realms. I notice Leanne is blushing. Humbled by my comment, she expresses gratitude.
"Windows" are another prominent concept in Leanne’s Inner World. Almost as if she were channeling a Druid Priestess, Leanne shares the wisdom that weaves through her art:
“Feeling good requires understanding feeling badly. Its yin and yang. Feeling whole and balanced requires opening to both the light and the dark, engaging it, experiencing it, releasing it.”
CONSTRUCTING & RECONSTRUCTING THE STORY In all of the Inner World collections, the same story never manifests twice, not even within the same piece. Leanne explains how this happens. “Within all art, there is the story constructed and the story observed by the viewer. Each person sees and takes away something different. Even at different viewing times, the same person sees the same piece differently. Creation is not passive nor is observation. Artist and viewer co-create.” I ask her what her greatest hope is for her art. For a moment, she slips into her own inner world, then adds, “I hope that the final work, what comes through the ether and manifests in light and color and imagery, is what the viewer needs at that time and that it helps all it can.” “All of life is to be celebrated and experienced—its many stories told in all forms.” Leanne Peters, illustrator and graphic designer can be reached at: Web: www.InnerWorldIllustration.com Email: leanne@innerworldillustration.com Phone: (860) 429-7375 *Grand Pré is the illustrator of the Harry Potter Books among thousands of other commissioned works. Information on all of the artists mentioned in this article can be found by going to each artist’s home page. For details, contact Karen M. Rider.
Karen M. Rider, M.A. is a freelance writer specializing in holistic and metaphysical subjects. Her articles, profiles, book reviews and promotional copy appear in local, regional and national publications including Door Opener, Natural Nutmeg, Angels Among Us, Dream Network Journal and The Writer magazine. Karen also writes fiction centered on the awakening of human-spiritual potential. Her first novel is underway. She is co-writing Eating... The Angel Way with intuitive medium Annie Kelleher due to publish in 2010. Karen lives in Cromwell, CT. Learn more: KarenMRider@comcast.net or call (860) 638-8140. Visit Karen's Blog: The Writing Parent www.thewritingparent.blogspot.com
Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 11
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“True, I am inclined toward the mystical feminine but I always consider balance and relationship between the elements in a piece. So, depicting the masculine within the feminine and vice versa. I look at the way opposites counterbalance and embrace one another. I love the idea of holding a center point to emotions. It’s very challenging for me to keep that balance, but I love the work of it.”
“Windows capture a significant moment in a person’s mind. Windows frame your perspective, allowing you to ‘see’ differently even if only for a fleeting moment. Seeing in a new way becomes an opportunity and a catalyst to take action steps out of a rough situation. The observer/viewer ‘leaps’ through the window under her or his own steam—goes where she needs to go to heal, to find balance or to feel whatever is needed at that time.”
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Unwind... Body & Mind
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No Place Like OM with Ron and Joan
12 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
February 2nd & 16th March 2nd & 16th April 6th & 20th
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Healthy Food Options by Laurie Charpentier
share in advance, usually in January or February, which gives farmers the resources to purchase plants and supplies for the upcoming season. In return, members get fresh produce from May to October. The amount and type of produce will depend on what is being harvested in any given week, but there is usually a wide variety. Members are also encouraged to visit the farm and be part of the farm experience. It can be a great learning experience for children to visit their CSA farm and learn about how their food is grown, learn good land stewardship and experience the effects that our daily decisions have on the environment. When choosing a CSA, meet with the farmers, ask lots of questions and find a farm as local to you as possible. Ask about pesticide and herbicide use. Call ahead as some CSAs are private residences and may have little or no times open to the public. Most CSAs will, however, accommodate visits and pickup times by appointment (you may be required to pick up your produce each week, or some CSAs will deliver). Some offer meats, some offer fruits and berries and others only vegetables. In order to meet all of your family’s needs, you may need to support more than one CSA. CSAs tend to be more economical than large chain supermarkets in terms of produce prices. CSAs make it easier to budget food costs and you eliminate “impulse shopping” by having a set price for the season. CSA shares range from $600-$900 or more for the season (May-October), depending on the size of the share and what kind of variety is offered. Register early as some CSAs have limited membership and thus, a reserved amount of shares. Whatever approach to finding safe food sources you adopt, be choosy about who is growing and supplying your food – your health and the health of your family depends on it. Here’s to healthy eating! Laurie Charpentier and her husband Mark are the owners of Wood River Farm in Hope Valley, RI. They own and operate a CSA and educational/therapeutic farm on ten private acres. For more information on CSA openings, call (401) 364-7600 or visit www.woodriverfarm.com
Sound Vibrational Healing With Crystal Bowls and Gongs February 13th 6:30 PM March 13th 6:30 PM BodyWorks Fitness Center 3 E Hampton Rd. Marlborough, CT Call 860-655-5500 for Reservations $20
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Lately, the term “healthy eating” has taken on a whole new meaning. It used to mean eating a balanced diet from the four food groups. Now it means attempting to successfully eat from the four food groups without contracting a food-borne illness. The last few years has seen an increase in food-borne illnesses, such as E-coli and Salmonella. Foods on past “do not eat” lists have included tomatoes, peanut products, spinach, beef and poultry. It has gotten to the point where it’s impossible to feel comfortable with the quality and sources of our food. So what do we do? How do we keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy? Try exploring one of the three following options for safe, healthy eating. One of the easiest ways to be sure you know what’s in your food is to grow your own. Victory Gardens, prevalent during World Wars I and II, have recently made a popular return. While these gardens evolved in an effort to reduce the demand for food supplies on warring countries, lately they have been resurfacing out of a desire for people to know their food is safe. It’s also very empowering for individuals who may be suffering during these trying economic times to provide food for themselves. But what if you don’t have the room, skills or inclination to grow your own food? Then become a localvore. When shopping, support local farmer’s markets, local butchers or meat markets and boycott foods and goods from other countries when grocery shopping. Read the labels on everything you buy. When faced with the choice, purchase fruits, vegetables and meats locally if possible and from within the US if not locally. This is not only a safer bet, but it’s also a very “green” thing to do. Locally purchased foods do not incur the energy and cost of transportation across the country. Finally, a growing trend and a best-of-both-worlds solution is to buy “shares” in a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA). Members purchase their
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ON THE COVER MORONTIA COMPANIONS
JeFF Haworth
Here we are venturing into our new decade, the feelings are reflected in the artwork for our cover this issue, from visionary artist, Jeff Haworth. This work reminds me of what it might look like inside of my physical vessel. At "Command Central" there I sit with my higher self both of us looking forward into the future of this journey navigating what lies ahead. I do not think that I could have found a more profound piece of art to express tending to my physical vessel. Jeff Haworth is a 34 year-old visionary artists in every sense of the word. He was born in California's central valley, in a city called Visalia. Jeff, as he was growing up in the 80's, was a big fan of Star Wars and other themes that lead him to envision life other than what we know it to be in this physical plane. His knowing was, in the natural order of things we were not the only intelligent beings in the universe and that other civilizations existed throughout the far-flung cosmos. This belief lead Jeff to Ufology.
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Can you imagine what it is like to awaken to the fact that something so real and natural could not be shared with many people as he was growing up? Jeff's journey in caring for himself became quite the challenge. He turned to drugs and alcohol to control the way he felt manifesting the problems that would eventually lead him to start his spiritual journey at age 17. This journey started for Jeff, in a familiar way, through a sacred book called, The Urantia Book. "Finally my questions were answered and the beings of the universe began to reveal themselves, as well as the structure and administration of the universe." Slowly the seeds necessary for his later artwork, were being planted, as Jeff expressed it, "for later harvest." After graduating high school and working odd jobs, Jeff was involved in an alcohol-related motorcycle accident which left him paralyzed from his waist down. Getting used to a life in a wheelchair was difficult at the age of twenty. Jeff often says that this incident "is the closest experience a human can have to dying and getting a new body." This was a profound experience for Jeff and would further shape and mold his consciousness to see less in the physical world and more in the spiritual. As he prayed whole-heartedly he gave his life to God and was led to the desert in Arizona—to Sedona. Jeff sees Sedona like many who have visited and live there as a magical and mystical land with towering red rocks and strikingly beautiful views. He found himself part of a spiritual group called the Aquarian Concepts Community, now known as Global Community Communications Alliance. It was through his relationship with this peaceful spiritual family that his talents were brought forth.
April 10th $7.50 6:30 PM
Through digitally enhancing and manipulating images and photographs, beings began to appear on his computer screen. Using the information he connected with through The Urantia Book, Jeff instinctively knew he was unfolding something very special in his life while expanding and further refining and developing his digital artistry. After spending six years in Arizona, Jeff decided to move back to California and experience his life and his digital art form anew. He now lives in Porterville, CA and volunteers as a drug and alcohol counselor while working with his art as a hobby. Jeff has plans to attend college art classes to learn how to market, display and enhance his already wonderfully exciting artistic ideas. I saw Jeff's creation Birth of Majeston and was interested for the cover of a previous issue. When I went to his website it was not operational, so I took a chance and emailed him to see if he would be willing to share his work with our readers. Happily, now Jeff's website www.reality-ize.com is home for over 300 images. Reality-ize is Jeff's vision in physical form "to awaken people." Thank you, Jeff, for choosing in your life that which has supported you, no matter what this physical plane may believe, and thank you for your sharing of self. Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 15
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A Better State of Mind (Body & Spirit) by Evelyn C. Rysdyk
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ears ago, in my early thirties, I went through an acute depression. During this period, I found myself plunged into an emotional and existential darkness that I had never before experienced. My life became completely unraveled at the seams and the work I had been doing as an artist and as an advertising art director suddenly became hollow and unfulfilling. This was particularly terrifying as art had always been my foundation. Fraught with times of utter desperation, confusion and fear, it was as though I was suddenly wandering through some uncharted realm. I had no guide or rudder save the desire to find the thread of Light that a deep part of my psyche/soul knew still existed. With all the resources I had left of my mind and heart, as well a stubborn will to “pull myself up by my bootstraps,” I went in search of maps to help me find my way. Having had some rudimentary understanding of Tibetan Buddhist practices from my study of the tradition’s religious iconography, I began to read about Chöd rites and Bardo states. Further exploration of the wrathful deities leads me to travel backward in history to the pre-Buddhist, Bon tradition. In my study, I was led backward even further to shamanism and the shaman’s journey. There I found ethnographic descriptions of shamanic dismemberment experiences, which finally gave me a framework for what I was feeling! This discovery made me want to find out more about the shaman’s path and eventually guided me to learning the shamanic journey process. Each day, I journeyed to work with the beneficent spirits. It was a though I was thrust into a spiritual doctoral program and so they taught me many wondrous things! The spirits also did healings to soothe my raw psyche and helped me discover a strong and very old part of myself that could guide me into a new life and Light. While I explored, I also availed myself of a conventional intervention. As those were the pre-Prozac days, I entered into a course of twice-a-week psychotherapy. Since my depression came with restless agitation and insomnia, I was also prescribed a medication to allow me to sleep at night. While I am sure these medical and psychotherapeutic interventions I was given offered me some benefit, it wasn’t until I had my first journey experience that I felt the profound feelings of hope and possibility flow back into my life. It was as if some inner faucet had been turned on again! The shift was so marked that in three weeks after learning to journey, I felt strong enough to “fire” my therapist and discard my sleep medication. Over the years and with the benefit of hindsight, I came to understand more deeply that period of depression. I placed it into a larger context in my life and in many ways, I am grateful for it having occurred. It is also true that I strive never to be that “low” again and so have put together a toolkit of the things I need to include to keep myself well-balanced. Since over nineteen million people in the United States live with major depression and many more suffer from chronically depressed moods I wanted to share the elements I have found to be incalculably valuable and essential to me. 16 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
Fraught with times of
utter desperation, confusion and fear, it was as though
I was suddenly wandering through some uncharted realm. 1. Practice gratitude every day Gratitude has the power to utterly transform your inner emotional landscape. In a study of organ transplant recipients, researchers from UC Davis and the Mississippi University for Women found that patients who keep “gratitude journals” scored better on measures of mental health, general health and vitality than those who keep only routine notes about their days. Test subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group kept routine daily notes about medication side-effects, how they felt about life overall, how connected they were to others and how they felt about the upcoming day. Patients in the other group answered the same questions but were also asked to list five things or people they were grateful for each day and why they were grateful for them. They were asked to reflect on what they wrote as well. After 21 days, mental health and general well-being scores had risen for patients in the gratitude group but declined for those in the control group. This is particularly important, as feeling better has been proven to actually translate into becoming more physically and emotionally well! It may seem counterintuitive, but if you can feel better first, you will be more likely to get better. (To support you in your gratitude practice, Spirit Passages offers a guided imagery CD titled, Becoming the New Human that is available on Amazon.com.) 2. Get outdoors Nature has remarkable restorative benefits. The changing seasons, phases of the moon, and shifting weather all remind us of the larger cycles of which we are a part. As nature goes “up and down” we, too, have rhythms and when we can allow ourselves to notice and honor our own natural cyclic flow, we can move through our lives a little easier. Going outside every day and into Nature as often as is possible helps you to feel much more “connected,” which is an excellent antidote to the isolating effects of our culture.
3. Eat like your brain depended upon it! Especially when we are feeling low we may fall into poor eating patterns. We may eat too much and/or choose foods that are high in sugar and carbohydrates. Unfortunately, a poor diet is also a contributing factor to depression and anxiety. Our brain needs balanced nourishment to be able to function well and remain healthy. It is important to get support to clean up your diet—adding plenty of fresh, organic vegetables and good protein sources to keep your brain as well as the rest of your body in top shape. 4. Have your Vitamin D level checked Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere have chronically low vitamin D levels—even those of us that eat well and get outside. Low vitamin D can lead to depression as well as several chronic health issues. To know where your level stands and to get an appropriate a “prescriptive strength” dosage regime, it is imperative to work with a doctor or nurse practitioner. They will order simple blood tests to keep an eye on your levels of Vitamin D and calcium to make sure you get enough without worry of a toxic overload. 5. Go for a walk Any exercise that moves your body in a healthy and fun way is great. Walking, swimming, dancing, even shopping all help to support a healthy metabolism, which in turn supports a healthy mental state. (Remember, even exercising is best approached in a balance way. Too much can lead to adrenal dysfunction, which can be as debilitating as the effects of too little exercise!) 6. Follow a regular bedtime routine Often when we feel blue or depressed, our sleep becomes ragged. It is at these times more than ever that we need to keep a good bedtime routine. This means doing quiet reading, meditation, listening to soft music or even taking a warm bath for the last hour before you go to bed; going to bed at the same time every night and rising at the same hour each day to help regulate your inner clock; and staying away from stimulants such as caffeine as well as carbohydrates and alcohol since all of these contribute to poor sleep regulation. It is important to get some exercise in the daytime, which also supports your mood as well as good sleep (see number 5).
Continued on Page 41
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
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a b rea th o f he alin g
How D o es Yo ga Ten d To yo u r Physi ca l Vessel? by Donna Amrita Davidge
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Sometimes nature simply runs its course with us yet we have the conscious choice to enhance or destroy our physical vessel by being aware. Are the foods we eat nurturing? Do we eat enough—too much or little? Are our words helpful or hurtful? Are we selective about what we say and what words and energies we allow into our lives? Part of tending to our physical vessel is that, too, tending to what, as Yogi Bhajan amusingly put it, (but it’s true!) it goes in and out of all of our holes. Recently someone said some words that felt harsh to me and my throat was bothering me for a week afterward with swollen glands. How does our environment affect our vessel? I know a young woman who works very hard, almost obsessively, to make sure she eats pure foods and puts only non-toxic creams, hair products, toothpaste, etc. on and in her body, yet keeps her living space dirty and cluttered. Not only can that dirt be breathed into our body, but the clutter itself can make us unsettled in our body, more restless and even more accident-prone than if we have a clean, calm environment to live in. The energy of our home affects our energy, too. Every moment, every day, we have a chance to observe our body – do we move too quickly or slowly, are we aligned, walking properly, lifting our body using our muscles and spine rather than slumping into it, which can create chronic pain and discomfort? If we are a slower person can we use that energy productively and visa versa? Who you are is your gift. When we feel run down or even get a long or short-term illness can we heed the call of the body? Many yoga teachers these days do not even practice what they preach. It is a constant practice to be in your body, to have a regular yoga practice while serving others, often under the strain of running a yoga studio or having to pay overhead and teachers/employees at studios. You can feel when a teacher has her/his own practice, setting an example by his or her presence even more than what he or she says. It is the responsibility of all students and teachers alike, to do the best we can to take care of our physical vessel. Once illness has set in Yogi Bhajan said we could not count on doctors to cure us, only to make the diagnosis and do the best they humanly can. If we are blessed with good health, which is the greatest wealth, the best thing we can do is value this gift of health and be an examples for others to also remember their physical vessel and tend to it as we would a winter plant or our summer garden, with love, good nourishment and good thoughts, placing it in its proper place so it can be healthy and happy. As one of my students just emailed me, simply put: "Without yoga I would be very unhappy!"
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Donna Amrita Davidge owns and operates Sewall House Yoga Retreat in Island Falls, Maine from May to October since 1997 with her husband, chef and musician Kent Bonham. When not at their beloved retreat home Donna (Amrita) can be found at Golden Bridge Yoga in NYC City as well as the Open Center and other locales. Donna and Kent have also led retreats in Italy the last two falls and will do their first Caribbean Retreat in March 2010. For more information www.sewallhouse.com or email info@sewallhouse.com.
Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 17
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ogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga said "To sustain themselves, tomorrow’s individuals must have yogic training. They will need a strong healthy nervous system, mental clarity and the backup of spiritual strength to face this coming world." We can say with confidence the only way to do this is through yogic techniques by which mind, body and spirit can be enhanced. Yoga has become mainstream as a physical workout for some, more than that for others. There was a yoga practitioner and healer on Linked-In.com on the internet who made a comment that though he might have felt more than physical benefit from yoga he preferred to deal with it purely as a physical form. He was self-taught and perhaps had he had a teacher he might have been instructed to delve into the ramifications of yoga practice that are beyond the physical and how these are interactive. As I study various form of yoga it seems impossible not to reach into the other aspects of yoga, no matter how the physical form is presented even if not everyone cares to do that. The physical aspect of yoga has come to the forefront of late as sixteen countries host Yoga Olympics Competitions created by the wife of the well-known Bikram, the founder of hot yoga. Their hope is to eventually bring yoga to the actual Olympics. In New York City the young man who has won the competition several years in a row said "I don’t see it as a competition. I offer my yoga practice to God." Isn’t the concept of Olympics about healthy competition to distinguish the "best" physically? Though Olympic athletes may have God in their life they are not known to say that they offer their sport to God. To some the concept of a yoga competition is an oxymoron. For those of us who cannot naturally do the extreme asanas of yoga like the young woman who won the Yoga Olympics in New York City, who said on the news that doing a split was just easy for her, it is perhaps healthier for us to think of our yoga practice outside the competitive mode and not aspire to anyone’s physical abilities but our own, within our own limits and at our own pace. This young winner of the yoga Olympics had only been doing yoga for five years and suggested that the postures simply came naturally to her. Some of it, at the end of the day, is just to be with the physical vessel we were given.. Olympics aside, yoga can be an extremely positive way to deal with our own individual physical vessel, no matter our level of "bendiness." So much of what we can do in yoga depends on our individual body. I was in an advanced yoga class yesterday where the teacher was saying that the person she was using to demonstrate a pose (the pigeon) was actually quite flexible in her hips. Another student asked then why was the demonstrating student piled on top of a few blankets to do her pigeon pose (preparation for the almighty split!). The teacher, Genny Kapuler, a senior Iyengar teacher in New York City, gave such a wonderful answer "Why, for her this is a very flexible position." Rather than pull a hamstring trying to do a split we cannot do, or bending back so far in a backbend that we hurt our knee or shoulder, we can observe our own vessel for what it is and what yoga can do for it. The asanas are a starting point to know where our body is at and from there see where we can improve our own flexibility and strength with the vessel we have been given. And it is never too late to do that. We don’t have to be Olympic athletes to work with what we were given! The torso itself is like a vase. I often use that image for working with the breath, picturing filling the vessel as if with water, only doing so with the breath. Energetically and physically the spine, our spine, holds up our vessel or vase. Along the spine are the nerves. Near various parts of the spine are the internal organs, glands and supportive tissues like muscles, ligaments and tendons. In a yoga practice all these parts of the anatomy are affected. The asanas and breathing do specific things for certain parts. Even sound can affect the physical vessel and that is where the use of mantra and music comes into our yoga practice. Our physical vessels are complex; each one of us is. If anyone has ever had the opportunity to see the BODIES... Exhibition, which has traveled around the world, you can see how beautifully intricate our physical being is – at the top of the vase sits a heavy head, our complex brain, supported by the four appendages, the two arms and two legs. When the vessel is functioning well this is a totally miraculous event. Many of us take this for granted until some illness or injury occurs. Even then, yoga can still be a blessing in our lives as we observe, work with and tend to this precious physical vessel, or as yogis call it "the temple.”
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Eating... The Angel Way A Divinely Inspired Approach To Nourishing Body, Mind, Heart and Soul
by Annie Kelleher & Karen M. Rider
specific foods, eliminating entire food groups, or dictating times of day to eat. They were suggesting “how” to approach nourishing my whole self. It was up to me—my choice—to trust the guidance I received in order to understand “why” the Angels suggested this approach. So, ever so slowly (also suggested by the Angels), I began to incorporate what the Angels called “Guidelines” into my life. As I began to feel the benefits of following these Guidelines, I received further guidance that I should share them with other people. If I’d been initially resistant about my own diet, I put up even more of a fuss about talking to other people about their eating habits. I protested because I knew nothing about nutrition except as it possibly applied to me. I had no authority to speak on this topic. However, when information about diet and nutrition began to come through in readings I was doing professionally, I realized the Angels were serious about sharing the information. Still feeling uncertain, I turned to my good friend and fellow writer, Karen M. Rider, because she had the educational background to do the research that I felt necessary to ground the Angel’s Guidance in a sound and practical way. Karen: Intuition Meets Science When Annie asked me to look at a "set of nutrition guidelines she received from Spirit," the scientist part of my brain kicked into gear, first. Fortunately, my scientific mind quieted and my heart opened. This was important because I otherwise might have bombarded Annie with so many questions she’d have gone running for cover! I already had great trust in Annie’s intuitive abilities. Now, I had to trust in my own and balance that with the science that had made up so much of my formal education. I agreed to review what she received from the Angels.
o you love your body for the Divine creation that it truly is? How do you treat your body? How does your body treat you? A body that is loved cares for itself—mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. In Inner Tapestry, we examine many ways to nourish the whole self. Over the next several issues of the journal, Annie Kelleher and I invite you to participate in a Divinely inspired approach to nourishing your Body Mind, heart and soul. We call this approach, Eating… The Angel Way (ETAW).
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You first learned about ETAW in the June 2009 issue. To refresh your memory, Annie, a gifted spiritual medium and energy healer, had reached a point in life where she was spiritually and emotionally “in tune” but physically out of whack. Like many others, Annie and I have spent a lifetime trying to figure out what and how to eat.
Without having checked a single expert source, I was immediately struck by the nutritional accuracy and clarity of the Guidelines. More than that, I told Annie, “If I had these guidelines in my hand 20 years ago, my recovery from eating disorders might have taken much less time.” I also felt strongly that I could teach these Guidelines to my young daughters, instilling in them a lifelong appreciation for the physical body that is home to their spiritual essence. My education and experience is in behavioral health research; I set out to see how well the Guidelines held up to current, wholistic and scientifically reliable dietary advise. I was able to find support for the Guidelines in several sources: in interviews with leading health scientists, nutritionists and integrative medicine practitioners; in discussion with energy healers; in recommendations promoted
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We all know we “should” eat right; but most of us are so confused by media health reports that we have no idea what this really means. This was true for Annie and I at different points in our lives. Annie speaks for many when she says, “I wanted to feel nurtured and nourished, and to experience my body in a loving, selfaccepting way.” This is the heart of Eating . . . The Angel Way. In this first installment we offer more of the ETAW story, briefly sharing Annie’s initial encounter with Divine Guidance and Karen’s role in helping Annie fulfill the Angel’s request to share the Ten Angel Way Guidelines with as many people as possible. Here, we will develop more fully the concepts brought forth in the Guidelines and answer readers’ questions. We invite you to send your questions to us or to share your experiences by sending your emails to: EatingTheAngelWay@gmail.com Annie: Asking for Guidance A few years ago, sick of feeling sluggish and tired of being completely confused about what I “should” eat, I opened my refrigerator and myself to Divine Guidance and asked the entities and energies I sensed all around me: “Would You please tell me what to eat?” To my complete astonishment, They did. Initially, like most people, I think, I questioned the validity of the messages I began to receive in my morning meditations, in the shower, while I was preparing meals, and even while I was in the grocery store. Although I had been working for several years as a professional medium and intuitive reader, I was still surprised. However, when I researched whether or not a specific message – such as “Eat a rainbow every day” – was substantiated by scientific or nutritional information, I always found that it did. When I was brave enough to implement the messages, to eat the way these entities – who identified themselves to me as “Angels” – suggested, I began to feel much healthier, more relaxed, and more intuitive. Trusting Guidance Received I must admit that I experienced a great deal of hesitation to making dietary changes that I knew, from past attempts with various types of behavior change, would require a significant investment of energy. I’m the type of person who is resistant to any outside authority that suggests how I should do something. I wondered, “What would be the 'payoff?' for making the changes the Angels suggested?” In the process of meditating on these messages from the Angels, it became clear to me I did not have to give up "being in charge" to an outside authority. Indeed, I would be free to choose what I wanted to feed myself. The Angels weren’t suggesting 18 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
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lov ing earth
Won't You Try This Lovely Organic Apple? by Pat Foley
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he prevailing understanding is we quite literally are what we eat. We take the nourishment (or poison) of what we ingest into the very fabric of our bodies and as we do this, we absorb stories as well, for our food is not silent. It speaks to us in diverse ways: Look, these are like the special cookies Grandmother baked for the holidays, they have the exact same red sprinkles she used to use. Mmmm, reminds me of family get-togethers. Too bad we didn’t know back then those red sprinkles were colored with a carcinogenic dye… Oh, I remember these. My father tried them in our vegetable garden one year. They were strong growers. The vines ran all over. One reached our apple tree and grew right up it onto the garage roof and then along the gutter. Really, it did.
Feeding Body and Soul
Under the right conditions, food truly feeds our bodies and we grow in a healthy way. Food also can be about love, attention and comfort. It can mean hanging out in the kitchen, helping and getting to lick that spoon covered with something good as a reward, sitting around the table telling family stories or cleaning up after a big lobster feast, everyone pitching in to get the job done and at the same time catching up on what’s happening to whom. Food is about eating, yes. It also can be about family and friends and sociability. The very successful organization Slow Food understands this. They call their local chapters “convivia.”
A Bigger Picture
Food tells personal stories about our immediate lives, reflecting back to us what we think is important. At the same time, it also tells stories of ecological, humanitarian and economic choices being made on a very large scale out in the bigger world. As we make our daily selections of what to eat, we all have a role in creating our world as we individually and collectively determine which items at market sell and which do not; what growing and marketing practices are acceptable to us and what ones are not. Do we buy fair trade coffee? Do we know that it is legal to label coffee as fair trade even if only a small percentage of the beans in the container were actually traded fairly? Do we think this practice is fair to those of us trying to be discriminating shoppers? Do we know about genetically modified organisms? Do we understand that they have not been tested properly to determine health safety when ingested? Is this acceptable to us as consumers? As parents? Do we understand that practically all non-organic soy and corn grown in this country now can be expected to contain genetically modified material? Do we know this material is banned in parts of Europe? Do we know the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture division figures livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gasses? Do we know that the American annual consumption of meat has increase by over 50 pounds per person in the last 50 years, that on average we eat twice the recommended amount of protein
When we are well-informed and mindful of the choices we have, we can actively work for our own personal well-being and at the same time support those larger things we believe in; ecological sustainability and fair treatment of those who grow our food to name just two.
US Organics
In this country, we have a rapidly growing market for organic foods. People are coming to understand organic food is the healthy choice. For example, in a study comparing standard USDA nutrient data from commercial eggs with data from eggs produced by free-range hens, the range birds had eggs with as much as • 1/3 less cholesterol • 1/4 less saturated fat • 2/3 more vitamin A • 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids • 3 times more vitamin E • 7 times more beta-carotene True organic methods, “deep organics” as Eliot Coleman calls them, are based on the understanding that farming is about relationships. This approach is fundamentally about working with nature. It is neither about mono-cropping nor excessive speed, meaning how many units of product can be realized in how short a period of time regardless of cost to product, consumer health or environment. Deep organics moves way beyond thinking of living beings as “units of product.” It is about commitment to a particular place and to understanding and maintaining a harmonious relationship with the various components of that particular ecological system in such a way as to sustainably produce the healthiest, best-tasting food possible. Unfortunately, with the expanding market for organic food, pressure has come from agribusiness to change portions of the national organic standards to favor large producers at the expense, some of us believe, of both small growers and of deep organic principles. Now that general public awareness of organic goodness is increasing, the standards themselves are being weakened! One way of working with this situation is to be aware that advertising is about selling product. It is not primarily a way of providing factual information to the public. For factual accuracy, we ourselves need to undertake the job of information gathering. We can begin by finding out what the actual national organic standards are. Another way of knowing what is happening with our food is to learn who our farmers are and find out directly from them what growing practices they use and why. If they live within a reasonable distance of us, we might be able to visit their farms for a look-see. Nothing quite replaces first-hand information. For those of us in Maine who are not sure how to begin this process, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners website www.mofga.org has a statewide listing of organic farmers, their products and where they are sold.
An Amazing Opportunity
We all have to eat. If we’re lucky, we do it every day. As we select healthy food, caringly raised and processed, and then prepare it with loving attention ourselves, we can create a healthful and nourishing situation that both permeates our own bodies and also radiates outward into our world. Quite amazingly, just by proceeding mindfully, we each can become ambassadors of the heart, the cooking pot, the vegetable patch and by extension, the well-being of the planet. More information is available through the following: GMO info, Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey M. Smith; politics of food, Food First www.foodfirst.org; factual scientific info including info on food, Union of Concerned Scientists www.ucsusa.org; discussion course on the many aspects of food, Menu for the Future, developed by Northwest Earth Institute www.nwei.org (workbooks and startup available in Southern Maine through Earthrest); teaching people worldwide to better feed themselves sustainably, www.growbiointensive.org. © Pat Foley, 2009 Pat Foley attempts to live a green/sustainable life just outside of Cornish, Maine. She is the owner of Earthrest, a retreat center operating on solar power, which offers gathering space for groups and individuals. The underlying focus of Earthrest is on following Gandhi’s advice to be the change we wish to see in the world. Earthrest offers group seed ordering each spring and a bulk spice and herb buying coop. You may contact Pat at earthrest@psouth. Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 19
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We let it go to see just how far it would get. Spaghetti squash. We had so many I took some to the supermarket to sell. In those days the markets gladly bought from local people. When I asked, they told me it was part of their “good neighbor” policy… What is this thing? Never seen anything like this on a plate before. You actually expect me to eat this?? Well, it’s not gonna happen. Oh, chicken soup. When I was sick my mom used to make the best chicken soup for me, right from scratch. It was so good I couldn’t help feeling better. She did something that made it taste special. Maybe it was the fresh herbs; maybe it was because the chicken was a free-range bird, not confined to a little cage its whole life… See what a nice color this orange is? It may not be quite as ripe as it looks, though. It’s been treated with gas to make it seem ready to eat. The gas treatment makes its color change from green to the orange most shoppers will select. This makes it possible to pick the fruit before it’s ripe, extending its profitable shelf life. It may have been irradiated also. In that case we won’t be able to tell if it’s spoiled or not because chances are, if it has been irradiated, it won’t smell bad. Coming to the orchard? The peaches are terrific this year. We can pick a whole mess of them. We’ll have a feast and then make jam …
each day? Do we think this is reasonable in light of the millions of hungry people on the planet?
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t he 2 1 s t c e n tur y b oh em i a n
Creating and Holding Space for One Another by Teresa Piccari
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iving in our round-the-clock culture can set us up for disconnecting from the natural rhythm of our physical bodies, as can delving into our deep spiritual nature, which tends to sway focus away from the body. Remaining in touch with the natural world surrounding us, with its pulsing physicality of ocean, lakes, forests, mountains and wildlife is one way to keep us grounded in our physical homes. Another is to observe the domestic pets we live with who are innately and keenly cued into their physical functions as well as their needs and desires. When they are hungry they eat, when tired they sleep, and they have a wonderful sense of the need for play as a key ingredient to a balanced life.
Moving with Nature
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My dog learned to swim in Penobscot Bay when she was two. Rescued at one, we had somehow belonged to one another for a year before she took the plunge. Normally tranquil compared to open ocean, our little point, where the Ducktrap River empties into the bay, is just opposite a small island, serviced by a ferry capable of kicking the surf up several notches from merry-go-round to roller-coaster. An avid swimmer and water bug myself, I had hopes my canine companion, Aquene, would be a water lover, too. So, drawing on my own initiation into swimming, I concentrated on creating a safe and comfortable environment. No baptism by fire for this duo. Aquene had already opted for saltwater versus the brackish river. Like most cautious moms, I timed my little girl’s swims when the water was placid as a merry-go-round so she could get a feel for the water, her skills and gain a level of trust and ease at being in the ocean. At low tide we could walk nearly halfway to the island and I would still be only waist-deep. Aquene would paddle about, having grown comfortable knowing she was way over her head, occasionally coming back to me to be held for little float breaks.
Onto the Big Waves Over time, she graduated to the roller-coaster waves, capable of testing my footing. All thirty pounds of Aquene delighted in the pounding surf and bigger waves. Did I forget to mention that she is not a lab or retriever? She is a jet Cocker Spaniel, a birder by nature and outfitted with webbed paws. When Aquene is in the water she never fails to draw the attention of whoever is around. Most people who see her frolicking in the water, kicking up her heels and clearly having the time of her life, assume she is a lab puppy. My patient and gradual process has created a joyful and fearless experience for my tentative-natured pet. Asking if she wants to go for a swim can illicit wolf-like howls of delight from her.
Where’d the Waves Go? Eventually, I introduced her to pond and lake swimming – which did not go over well. She would stand petulantly on the beach like a bored, teenage surfer waiting for a white cap, a curl, a ripple, something. She’d look from the smooth-as-glass surface to me, and back again. “Who turned off the wave machine?” she asked with her big browns. She was not pleased. Finally, hoping no one was watching, I resorted to creating waves by splashing and in she charged, trying to herd the errant water. As things calmed down she would turn and give me a high-pitched bark command to stir it up again. Eventually, she would relent and set about the business of really swimming under her own steam in the mysterious stillness, not relying on the power of currents and waves.
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It’s a Dog’s Life On dry land, Aquene is just as adept and unapologetic about making sure her physical needs are met. She never misses a meal or, if she can help it, her special daily green treat. She likes to ease into her day, rolling on her back for a belly scratch. Her paws usually hit the floor after my feet – she likes to use the snooze feature on her inner morning clock. She then engages in what I call her puppy yoga, stretching luxuriously, executing a few downward dog asanas better than any human. She gets a little massage, focused on her extended back legs. Then she is out the door. She makes a quick return for breakfast and curls up on the couch to listen with one cocked ear and snooze through the morning news. If I have gotten too caught up in writing or reading and a meal is delayed, she will make her way onto my lap and literally plant her body on the books and papers and stare me down until I apologize and sheepishly make my way to the kitchen. When she determines I am at the computer longer than necessary she will become restless, pace and jump at my legs until I set up a chair for her next to mine so she can read over my progress and give me some feedback. She can sniff out a ball hiding under furniture, trees, pine needles and even snow, retrieve it and carry it to any human she would like to engage in a game of fetch. Unlike many people, she loves snow, and even helps me shovel. As I toss the scoopedup snow into a pile she leaps into the air, trying to catch it and barks with glee. She is a sun goddess in summer when she lays on her side in the yard soaking it up – preferably following a morning swim so she can dry her hair naturally. In the winter, she searches out a sunny, dry spot – like the metal storm cellar door to perch as she soaks up the rays beaming on the snow-covered yard. As the days get shorter and the ocean and lakes cool down, she prefers to be blown dry after her dips. Fearful of the blow dryer for a long time, she one day presented herself to me for drying when she saw me getting the hair dryer. Now, embarrassingly, she has come to expect a few seconds of dryer warmth on even her dry fur before I turn the dryer on my own hair! Her internal clock also tells her when it is time for bed. She is not shy about retiring early under the kitchen table when company has stayed late, or she has played or swam so much she is actually tuckered out. If she is not physically tired when it's lights-out time, she will run around the house getting her energy out, until she is.
Rewards of Fur Parenting Unless you, too, have a fur child who has captured your heart you may be shaking your head, wondering if I am a little kooky. And what do I get in return? It’s true, our pets can provide unconditional love – something we humans don’t always find so easy to do. They remind us how natural and easy loving is. They protect our homes and our physical beings. They sense what we do not, or choose not to. At times I have been baffled by Aquene’s reaction to new people – but her instincts usually prove right-on. When I am out in the world and she is at home, she holds the space and waits patiently, typically not even bothering with others who come and go. Astonishingly, when I am sick, my dog is a stellar private nurse. She remains loyally curled up with me and makes do with few and cursory trips outside and she wouldn’t dream of making fun of my dirty hair or disheveled attire. Our pets are astoundingly successful at getting their physical and emotional needs met—and they manage to accomplish this without most of the tools we have at our disposal. Perhaps they can teach us a trick or two about taking better care of ourselves and getting what we need. Reminding us to make time to nurture, play and rest amidst all the busyness of life. © 2009 Teresa Piccari Teresa Piccari is a writer and teacher living in coastal Maine. She is the proprietor of The Village Scribe, a professional writing and editing business at The Wellness Center in Camden, Maine. Teresa teaches creative process and writing workshops including Creative Writing, Memoir and Mythic Structure. She also runs The Ducktrap Writers’ Round Table which meets monthly at the Camden Public Library. Contact Teresa at TheVillageScribe@hotmail.com or at 207.344.7070.
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Practicing Safety First With Our Pets by Donald and Sara Hassler
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ending to our pet's physical well-being is similar to practicing health safety for our children. By thinking of safety first, we can work to care for our pet’s physical vessel through prevention. Learn how to avoid a possible tragic and life-threatening situation by taking a close look at the 2008 stats from the largest and most-trusted pet poison control center. In 2008, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) reported that they took over 140,000 calls for pet emergencies that were related to toxic poisoning. Below is a list of the top ten poisons that pet owners called for help on which the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) in Urbana, IL handled in 2008.* We have included some prevention tips to help fellow pet parents avoid some of the most common pet poison emergencies. Human Medications 50,000 pet owners called the APCC and reported accidents that involved prescription and over-the-counter human medications. Painkillers, dietary supplements, cold medicine and even antidepressants were some of the top meds that pet parents found that their faithful companions had investigated and accidentally ingested.*
Plants Almost 8,000 calls were received due to household plants being ingested by pets.* Prevention Tip Lilies are extremely dangerous to cats and even if a small amount is eaten, it can result in kidney failure. Other plants that are toxic are; kalanchoe, schefflera, rhododendron, azalea, and sago palm. Re-home plants to a place pets won’t be or give questionable plants away. Hazardous Chemicals Nearly 5,500 pets were reported to have had exposure to a chemical hazard by frightened pet owners who called the poison center for help.* Prevention Tip
Insecticides
Household Cleaners
31,000 phone calls were made by frantic pet parents that were trying to rid their house of unwanted pests or protect their home and pets from creepy creatures. The most common insecticide that was reported to be involved was a flea and tick product. It was the misuse of these insect control products that seemed to be the issue. *
Frantic pet parents made more than 3,200 calls to the APCC for accidents that involved household cleaning agents.*
Prevention Tip
Prevention Tip Apply flea and tick products with strict adherence to the directions specific to the products packaging. Before starting a flea or tick program consult your family veterinarian. They can determine what product is safe for your pet based on an animal’s medical history and profile. Holistic medical professionals can suggest natural and non-toxic alternatives. People Food 15,000 calls were phoned to the Animal Poison Control Center where pets were poisoned by people food. The one food that was found to be the worst offender was chocolate. Others foods included grapes, raisins, certain citrus fruits and avocados.* Prevention Tip Ask family members to stick to a pet healthy diet and only give furry family members pet-friendly foods. House guests can be asked to refrain from feeding pets. Chocolate contains methylxanthines, a chemical that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst, urination, hyperactivity, an abnormal heart beat, tremors and seizures. Chocolate should be kept away from pets, young children who share and guests who may not know. This pet-toxic candy should not be set out on tables, counters or anywhere a pet could reach it. Rodenticides
Prevention Tip Serious health issues like respiratory irritation and gastrointestinal upset can be related to inhalation. Household cleaners should be treated like hazardous chemicals and locked away in a closet or cabinet. White vinegar is a natural and cost-effective way and safer alternative to clean most areas in the home. When using cleaning agents, natural or not, clean while your pets enjoy a nap in another room. Heavy Metals Poison control staffers reported that they took over 3,000 calls from pet owners where heavy metal poisoning caused pets pain.* Prevention Tip Heavy metals like lead, zinc and mercury are all toxic and can cause serious health complications for pets. Products like paint chips, linoleum and lead dust are commonly inhaled when older homes are scraped or sanded. Opening walls to do electrical/plumbing repairs can cause questionable situations of exposure. When there is a question of a pet’s safety, let your animal companion enjoy some quiet time in another area of the house when work is being done. Pet parents can use leaf blowers, shop vacs, brooms and other cleaning equipment to rid work zones of poisonous debris.
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8,000 calls were made about animal companions that had mistaken rat and/or mouse poisons for food, and had accidentally ingested these killer chemicals.* Prevention Tip Bait traps often contain active and inactive ingredients that are toxic to pets and can cause life-threatening health issues like bleeding, seizures and kidney damage. Keep these types of pest controls in a locked box away from the common areas of the home. Veterinary Medications Approximately 8,000 pet parents dialed the phone to ask for help about medications that they thought were safe for their pets. Misapplied or improperly administered meds topped the cases handled by the poison control center.* Prevention Tip Heartworm preventatives, antibiotics, nutritional supplements, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, de-wormers and vaccines can all be toxic to pets. It is recommended to have a medical professional administer medications. If take-home meds are prescribed get clear instructions on the use and follow your veterinarian's outlined procedure when giving medications at home. Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 21
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Keep meds locked up or far out of reach (up to 5 feet) or behind a cabinet door or drawer that has a child/pet safety latch on it.
Chemicals pose an extreme danger to pets and can cause a wide variety of symptoms that can make them sick, cause chemical burns, result in respiratory difficulty, upset their stomach, and even result in death. Keep chemicals in a locked closet high up on a shelf or locked way in a cabinet. The list of hazardous chemicals is too long to list here. Consider that most chemicals can pose life-threatening consequences to pets.
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Remember To Breathe
Aya Itagaki
by Aaron Hoopes
As we are focused on attending to our physical vessel it seems that it is a great opportunity to, once again, bring our attention back to the breath. Ancient stories tell of a long-lost fountain hidden away in some remote, forgotten corner of the world. This mythical fountain was reported to flow with magical elixir that cured illness and granted the drinker eternal youth. The driving force behind much of Ponce de Leon’s exploration was his obsession with tales of the Fountain of Youth. The idea of living longer has often become a focus for many people as they begin to grow older and feel the effects of age and their inevitable mortality. Recently we have been bombarded with remedies both old and new which claim to extend life. From new improved chemical supplements to chocolate and even laughter, it seems as if everyone has a special method for prolonging life. However, letting the body do what is natural is most often the best method for achieving any goal. Unfortunately, the simple, natural and most beneficial method is often the most neglected as we continue to search for immortality.
Learning to breathe correctly is a conscious lifestyle choice that is vital to the health of the body if we are to attend to our physical vessel. If you are truly concerned with your health and genuinely want to care for your body, you are missing a major if not critical opportunity to satisfy these concerns if you fail to learn how to breathe properly and effectively.
Think of your circulatory system. You take in oxygen from the air you breathe. The oxygen enters your bloodstream and creates oxygen-rich blood that flows through your veins where it liberates the energy in the food you ingest and collects the toxins and poisons generated through your everyday living and expels them as CO2. It stands to reason that more oxygen would give you more energy-producing, oxygen-rich blood, and the use of more lung capacity would enable you to expel more toxins and poisons, especially those lurking in the lower two-thirds of your lungs. This kind of maximization of oxygen intake is what you can achieve through what is called conscious breathing. Conscious breathing is simply about paying attention to the present moment and noticing your breath. Conscious breathing is inherently slow and deep and leaves you with a full, alive feeling. Practicing it improves your health and your feeling of well-being, increases your basic supply of energy, and expels the toxins from your system more effectively. The biggest problem we are faced with when beginning breathing training is the simple fact that the body doesn’t need us to be aware of the breathing we do just to stay alive. This is, of course, a good thing. But it does make it easy not to pay attention to our breathing and to rely on subsistence breathing patterns. So the challenge becomes remembering to spend some time everyday breathing slowly and deeply. During the typical day there are numerous opportunities to practice smart breathing. We have all spent time standing in lines at the store, sitting in the doctor’s waiting room or stuck in traffic at rush hour. These are ideal times to devote a few moments to deep breathing. Situations such as this are usually annoying and promote stress. Why not use them to cultivate the habit of deep breathing which can take you on the road to happier, healthier living? It may sound simplistic, and in fact, it is. You can feel better and healthier with no investment of money and little investment of time. Give breathing more importance in your life and you will soon discover that you may just be tapping into that magical elixir of energy. Remember to Breathe~! More Wandering Sage Wisdom is available at: http://wanderingsagewisdom.blogspot.com. Aaron Hoopes teaches an Online Personal Development Course for Spiritual Deepening. He is the author of 5 books including Zen Yoga: A Path to Enlightenment through Breathing, Movement and Meditation. His best-selling 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
Enjoy reading this issue of Inner Tapestry!
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Breathing is fundamental to human existence. The human body can survive without food for days or even weeks. It can survive without water for two or three days. However, without oxygen, we die in minutes. The incongruity is that people spend a great part of their lives concerned with eating and drinking yet, for the most part, pay very little attention to their breathing.
This concept is basic. By learning breathing exercises and practicing them whenever you get an opportunity, your body becomes infused with more oxygen and vital energy. It begins to feel better. As you feel better you start to breathe easier and more fully, which in turn brings in even more oxygen and energy. It is a positive upwards spiral created simply by breathing consciously. Your body wants to breathe more, all you have to do is let it.
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Immunity? Part Two by Ron Damico
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n Part 1 of this article I expressed my view of how humanity established and grew a relationship with immunity and the immune system and how it is an expression of how life was and is often viewed: as something to survive and be protected from. With concerns of diseases and violence is it any wonder that protection from is how most of life is lived? Add to that the constant concern for and threat against our financial and societal welfare and well-being and you have a world which is constantly looking over its' shoulder in anticipation of the next conflict to struggle with, the next problem to solve or the next thing to protect ourselves from. Is it a wonder people feel as on-edge as they do? In this article I will be exploring how we can shift our relationship with ourselves; how this will influence our lives; and how it will change the ways we are in the relationship of life.
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How we see ourselves and the world around us will influence and determine how our bodies’ function and the approach we take in the support of our bodies. The body is a wonderful expression of our current state of being. If we are anxious the body will begin to create and hold tension, heart rate will increase and the mind will become more alert. This is basic information most are aware of. If you have ever read any information about stress and the management of it, you are aware of how situations and how we perceive them influences what the body does and goes through. If a person remains in stressful situations long enough the body begins to falter and illness can and usually will begin to present. As illness begins to take hold, how a person views what is happening will influence the course of this imbalance. If this is viewed with rejection, tension increases in the body. As tension increases body systems further diminish. As the body continues to move further out of balance the body becomes more inviting to normally disinterested parties. If we are in harmony our body’s natural state of being is not supportive of many, if not most pathogens and other simple-cell organisms. The simplest approach I have, to begin the change in our relationship with our bodies is to ask ourselves, "what can I do to help myself connect with my truest way of being"—what some call “original instruction?” At the heart of each of us is our heart. Not just the physical heart but also our energetic heart, the location within our energetic matrix through which a being creates themselves as form. This is the intersection point through which soul or spirit consciousness and thought or mind consciousness meet. This is the point that is influenced by free will. This is the point at which choice at every level influences all that is chosen as real. If we choose to experience the world in a specific way, that is how we will present ourselves to the world and how the world will look to us. One of the many things I appreciate about life is choice; even if we do not fully trust or believe this is true, it is still there. We have an unlimited number of options. It may not be to directly and immediately change the situation of the moment, but we have the ability to change how we are in relationship with ourselves and all that is involved with what is happening. We can, if we choose, become aware of how these very real situations and their potential influence can affect how we feel, experience, and live in this world. It is our perceptions and perspectives, which directly influence and create the foundation from which life is expressed and experienced. We are amazing beings. We can convince ourselves of anything, no matter how "out of this world" something is. The one thing that is not possible is the ability to live separate from and ignorant of the truth. We can, and people often do, choose to be blind to the truth, but truth will ultimately present itself. When this moment arises, and it will happen for everyone at some point, the awakening process has begun. Life will begin to move to uncover and live truth consistently until it is embraced over and over. A simple practice, which could support the awakening to truth, is to take time on a regular basis to connect with the body and improve your relationship with it through the heart. The reason I chose the heart-centered body relationship is because the body is the vehicle, which most easily gets our attention. If the body is harmony the being will sing. If the body is not in harmony the mind gets a little cranky. Eventually, when the heart is the focal point from which we live, there are no longer any mood swings when the body is in "a formerly perceived" uncomfortable position. To begin, find a time and place when you will not be disturbed or distracted. Take a moment to connect with the true heart, not the physical heart but the place in proximity to the physical heart where you create yourself as form. The location will be slightly different for everyone, but it will be about midpoint between the spine and the heart muscle center and somewhere between the top of the heart and three inches below the bottom of the heart muscle. Start by breathing naturally. Do not force or manipulate your breath. Let your current rhythm present. After 26 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
settling into this rhythm bring your awareness to the area of the true heart and stay present with your desire and willingness to experience your true self. Take your time and do not rush even if you are not able to discern your origin. As long as you have a loving desire to connect and you let your faith in your ability to awaken, it will be there, even if you are not able to consciously feel it, over time and with consistent choosing, you will awaken consciously to have an intimate and purposeful relationship with your center. It is through this awakening that all true communication with Divine Source takes place. Stay centered in your heart with your breath. Feel yourself radiate from that center. Even if you are not feeling the true origin you should be able to feel or be aware of something. It could be warmth, a glow or color; a pulse, vibration or a tone; most anything that has a natural vibration. When you connect with it allow it to expand out from that origin point with each exhaling breath. Continue until you feel it expand as far as you would like it to go, but at least beyond the border of your physical body. Stay with this until you feel comfortable and at peace. Once settled bring your attention and awareness to your body. Gently and lovingly become aware of and feel the current state of your body. Feel where there is tension and flow; love and fear; joy and anxiety; truth and illusion. With each breath feel what is present. Allow what presents to flow without judgment, need to understand, or desire to control. Just let it flow in whatever form it takes. Let each thing come to resolution on its own. No need to force or look for an end. It will come to completion on its own. This activity has many benefits. Not only will it offer an opportunity to spend some quality time with yourself, but it is also helpful to allow release of all which is no longer serving. As this practice is continued you will notice a more peaceful and centered mind. Anxiety will be more frequently replaced with peace and joy; worry and dread will be replaced with contentment and childlike curiosity. You will begin to look at situations similar to those of the past and find yourself seeing them and feeling differently about them. All of life will have more options, opportunities and possibilities than were able to be seen before. These moments of awakening bring forth the realization of your truest essence. You will begin to feel life without the limitations and boundaries of the past. There will be fewer thoughts of judgment and criticism; and the world will begin to be experienced new every moment. Take some time periodically to ponder the possibilities life has to offer when you are no longer controlled by your history. At this point it becomes apparent that life can be something very different. You begin to realize you have choice. Not just choice of what to eat or where to go, but how you would like to be and act in any and all situations. Not because you want or need to influence the outcome of an event, but because you are willing to experience yourself and those around you in a joyful, caring, and loving way. You are as you are because you are willing to lovingly be cause in the world. You are willing to be all you are able to be purposefully in every moment because you cannot imagine being any other way.
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My Body, This Land by Megan Don
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I have been a drop in the air, A shining bright star, A letter among words… I have flown as an eagle… I have been a tree in a covert, There is nothing of which I have not been a part. ...Taliesin
This physical land and this physical body are talismans of magical proportions that are journeying us back to our essential home. We are being given unparalleled opportunities while living on this earth planet to realize the actuation of the complete union of the spiritual and material nature, within our selves and all beings. The body is an expression of this divine gnosis (knowledge), unfolding into a form or container of great light, power and wisdom. It is, or we are, the ultimate fulfillment of the divine creation in unity, through our bodies, minds, and souls.
It is the principle of sovereignty that takes center stage in the mythology of Ireland. Sovereignty is a power that is present in the land itself; it is revealed through the Goddess Etain, and is realized in the human soul when we are in right relationship or “married” to the truth of Her power. It is written of Etain: “A woman is in a sunlit grove. A fairy mound is behind her, a spring rises beside her… she steps easily and confidently between the elements. She is entirely at home. She is contained, complete unto herself, strong and beautiful.” (The Silver Branch Cards, Nicholas Mann). Etain represents the woman in perfect harmony with her environment and with herself. She has the ability to cross between dimensions and worlds, and she opens the way for the abundance of land and people. When a man marries her, he essentially marries her qualities and abilities, but in order to marry her he must have right judgment, for if he does not then he will lose both Etain and her blessings. We are all called, both women and men, to marry this harmonious and right-judging soul within. Naming also plays a major part in Celtic tradition. We find many stories in the Celtic myths where Ireland is named after the various Goddesses. There is known to be great power in naming, and those who refused to name the land as the Goddess asked met their death, and those who honored the Goddess prospered. It is interesting to bring these mythological tales of sovereignty and naming into our own reality. Where does our sovereignty lie? In separating body and soul do we limit our capacity to claim our power and sovereignty of self? For this, too, is implicit within the Celtic wisdom – the land is our body – the body is our land. If we denigrate either of them we have lost right relationship with our soul; we are living in separation and we give false names to our experiences, our inner self, and our truth. A true name can only be given when the wholeness of self is recognized. Who is that we call ourselves? If you look deep within, what name is it that you hear? Too often, it is the name of wrong-judgment that rises; that is, dishonoring self, body, and the
We are these beautiful clay images, being reformed again and again, as falseness rises to be shattered to make way for the new and original image. In Ireland I was reborn into an image of the land that I have always known deep within my being. I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into the reality of my own skin. For the first time I felt completely at home on this earth. This was a large shattering of a very large lie – that earth was not my home. My body, my soul, this land, is my home. To say otherwise is to feel disconnected and alone, which many feel. We can mourn another existence, another land and way of being, but the truth is we are here now, being given an opportunity to release karmic patterns, to feel fully the impact of living the beauty and horror of this life in these bodies, and to cultivate a spiritual stamina that will allow all things to come to pass in their manner and time. The Celts were a strong warrior people that drew on inner strength for their life circumstances. May we emulate their abilities so we are able to encounter all that life offers us. May we call on the Goddess and seek right relationship with Her and let Her destroy and create us as is befitting for our soul’s journey. The Celtic Morrigan (who is akin to the Hindu Goddess of Destruction, Kali) leaps about in her dark body drawing us to places where we would probably rather not go, yet it is liberation that she offers us, if we can embrace her and dance with her. Those who did not listen to her in the Celtic days of old met humiliating defeats and untimely deaths. May we willingly enter our timely ego-deaths, and allow her to guide us into the darkness of the earth and open the way for our sovereign life and true name that awaits.
May the peace of the land be your body May the peace of the sky be your mind May the peace of the sea be your soul
Megan Don is an Award-Winning Author, Spiritual Counselor and Retreat Presenter. She leads pilgrimages to Ireland, Italy, Spain and Glastonbury. She is now living in Grass Valley, CA where she is studying the mysteries of the early Gnostic Christian Tradition. To learn of private sessions or upcoming retreats and pilgrimages see www.mysticpeace.com. Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 27
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My journey to Ireland earlier this year was a deep attunement of knowing my body as the land. Previous connections have been made and felt in different environments, but this experience held a knowing of deeper proportions. I entered into experiences that took me into the realms where gods and goddesses, sidhe, fairy folk, and the elementals are living realities in the hills and earth, in the sea and tides, and in the wind and sky. Their presence is not a mythological tale of old but a significant part of the Irish land and psyche. My body entered into the places they inhabit. It was very physical and very real. It was encountering the land in all of her manifestations and all of her regal power.
Goddess. It steals your energy and leaves you flat and disconnected from your land and community. It is a strong and silent thief, bent on destruction. Yet, we can turn that destruction to our advantage; that is, we can shatter the clay-pot that has been holding the false name and image, and bring forward the true name that lies in wait.
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ask asrianna Questions and Answers on Relationships, Spirituality and Conscious Living Dear Asrianna, Everyone tells me I’m too sensitive. It seems like the slightest comment upsets me. I’ve seen therapists who’ve given me great tools for coping and they’ve helped, but I just can’t seem to stop reacting to every perceived slight. I know most people aren’t even saying anything truly unkind, but my first reaction is to feel upset. Occasionally I find myself avoiding going somewhere because I just feel overwhelmed by too many people. When I watch the news or read the papers, the sad things that happen just make me feel so depressed. I also seem to be a magnet for people telling me their problems. I don’t want to sound like I’m mean, but part of me wishes they wouldn’t share things with me. While I seem to help them, when they’re gone I feel drained.
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Someone told me that I might be an empath and while I’m not sure what that is, if there’s something that can explain all of this I’d just be glad to know there’s a reason. Signed, Feels Too Much
This last energy may feel very familiar to you, because the individual with an emotional energy will walk into a home and say, “Ah! I love this home!” Or, conversely, “I don’t like the feel of this at all.” A person who makes decisions based on their primary energy of emotion, may feel compelled to come up with a rational reason or justification for their choice, but when it comes down to it, they either feel drawn to it or they don’t. While each energetic type has inherent gifts, abilities and blessings, I’ve found that our current culture is particularly unfriendly toward those whose primary energy is emotional. We’re told that being intellectual and/or practical is rational and justifiable while being emotional means we’re weak, too vulnerable, gullible, irrational and therefore unworthy of being taken seriously.
I've come to believe there are four ways we process information.
Dear Feels, I’m neither a doctor nor licensed mental health professional, so I’m glad to know you’ve seen a therapist and that you feel the tools you’ve been given have merit. When following a holistic path in which all aspects of a person is included—the heart, body, mind and spirit— it’s important to address each area as fully as possible. That may entail seeing traditional medical doctors as well as other licensed, appropriate professionals such as those trained in the mental health field. I’ve come to believe there are four ways we process information. We do so intellectually, practically, spiritually/creatively, and emotionally. We each possess all four aspects, yet one energetic area dominates. This primary energy is the way in which we process information, the way we see the world, ourselves, others and our place in the entirety. We need all four energetic realms, yet when we don’t understand and honor our primary way of processing information, we can feel overwhelmed and confused. I describe it this way. Let’s imagine you’re buying a house. The person with intellectual energy will say, “This house is a $250,000.00 home. If I put $50,000.00 down, in five years I can sell it and make such-and-such profit.” If that figure works for the person with a primary energy that’s intellectual, they’ll buy the house and, for them, it will be the best process for making the decision. The person with practical energy might say, “I need a home with four bedrooms, a large kitchen and a den.” If they find a home meeting their practical needs, they’ll feel quite happy with their decision to purchase the property. The energy I call spiritual/creative causes a person to look at that single level home with the bad paint and unkempt yard, and if they can envision it redecorated and tidied up, and if that potential matches their inner picture of what they want, they may very well buy the house and be happy they did so. 28 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
we do so intellectually, practically, spiritually/creatively and emotionally. It’s hard enough to trust ourselves when the only thing we can say to another is, “This just doesn’t feel right to me.” When those around us don’t honor our process of decision-making, it magnifies our own doubts and uncertainties. A person whose primary energy is emotional is extremely responsive to the emotions of others. Often, crowded places feel claustrophobic and chaotic. You’re essentially an antenna and you’re picking up the emotional signals from everyone around you. It’s as if you constantly turn a radio dial and hear static and a chorus of bits and pieces of voices and words. The sheer amount of information, as well as the overlay of sensory stimuli, can be overwhelming. Yet you have a tremendous gift. The reason so many people are drawn to you, the reason they unburden themselves to you is because they sense at a very deep level your ability to understand their emotions. You possess a profound capacity for compassion and empathy. In fact that’s why individuals with your psychic gift are often called Empaths. An Empath—also referred to as a Clairsentient—is a person who can sense, read, and understand the emotional energy of others. I believe the greatest honor we can give to another is that of being heard. We each long to be known, to feel understood, listened to, and accepted. Being heard
is so precious because it validates our sense of worth and presence, it makes us feel connected and loved. While many people find it hard to put this hunger into words, we each harbor a need to be part of the whole and we’re instinctively drawn to those we sense can deeply listen and understand, gravitate to those who do so without harsh judgment. Your exquisite sensitivity to emotional energy draws people to you and yet because you’re unaware of your ability and power, you haven’t learned how to set up proper and healthy boundaries. In this way, you’re the equivalent of a psychic sponge, soaking up every bit of emotional energy coming you’re way. When you don’t understand the nature of your emotional gifts, you lack the awareness of how to utilize them for your highest good, and thus the highest good of all those whose lives you touch. Know that your deep sensitivity to the remarks and actions of others is tied to your extreme ability to feel emotions. Although this might seem like an odd comparison, think of those individuals called “noses,” or perfumers. They possess the rare gift of discerning subtle scents, and their extreme sensitivity to odors and fragrances is what makes them highly sought-after individuals. Yet their ability to identify the most elusive and desired scents also makes them wrinkle those very noses at the smell of anything malodorous. It’s merely the flip side of being highly gifted as a perfume nose and those who understand this particular gift don’t judge them for being uncomfortable around unpleasant smells. You’re blessed with the gift of emotional sensitivity. This isn’t to ignore the sadness you can feel, or the tendency to feel overwhelmed and hurt. It’s the flip side of the coin. It’s stands to reason that if you’re profoundly caring, loving, kind, sensitive and compassionate toward others, able to feel their own emotions as your own, you’ll also have a tendency to feel their pain. That being said, you don’t have resign yourself to feeling uncomfortable. Continue to learn about your emotional, psychological nature. Utilize the tools your therapists taught you. Understand that you possess a refined ability to feel and in doing so strive to honor your talent at discerning emotional energies. Don’t automatically accept the opinions of others as being a valid statement about your emotional energy merely because they don’t understand it. With your own acceptance of your energetic type, you can begin to work with it and balance the blessings with the challenges. The simplest way of protecting yourself is to ask to be filled with light. Going back to that simple sponge analogy, imagine taking a dry sponge and placing it in a pooled bit of water. The sponge eventually soaks up every last drop, expanding in size as it holds all the water within. However, if you fill the sponge with liquid and then place it in that same amount of pooled water, it won’t absorb another drop. That pooled bit of
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Geopathology by Werner Brandmaier
Webster’s: “geo” – of the earth; “pathology” – all the conditions, processes or results of a particular disease. Geopathology is the study of the harmful aspects of earth grid lines, underground watercourses, earth faults and energy vortexes, and their effect on our health and well-being. It provides crucial information about environmental stressors in a home or workplace, caused by earth-related irregularities, called geopathic stress, but also includes man-made disturbances such as electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from cell phones, computers and most technical appliances.
Geopathic fields exhaust the overall energy of our body. More and more holistic doctors in Europe today agree, that without addressing those causes; e.g. often by simply changing the sleeping place, treatments are less effective and improvements can not be obtained for very long before an illness re-occurs. In a 1970 study by Kaethe Bachler, 3,000 school children with learning difficulties and attention disorders (ADD, ADHD, etc.) were tested. When investigated for geopathic stress, most of those cases showed serious levels of long-term exposure, most often in sleeping areas where people spend many hours a day. Further studies with adults suffering from general levels of low energy (what we’d call today CFS – chronic fatigue syndrome), heart conditions, circulatory problems, even depression, showed similar geopathic exposures.
Do you regularly wake up during the night (especially between 2 and 3 am)? Geopathic stress has its maximum intensity between 2:30 and 3:00 am. It is strongly dependant on water and with that on the moon and its phases. The body charges up all night with geopathic energies until the uneasiness is so strong, that one wakes up. If you have small children in your family, how do they sleep? A baby falling out of its bed or always moving to one side of the bed is a strong indication of a bad choice for its sleeping place. Babies are much more sensitive and try to naturally avoid bad areas. If they cannot, they wake up crying and may experience nightmares. How is the attention and concentration of children at school? The earlier mentioned study with 3000 school children in Austria in the 1970’s resulted in a countrywide recommendation to rotate seating of the students in classrooms on a regular basis. This way one child would not be exposed to draining earth energies all year long, sitting at the same place. Are there any chronic health issues you or a member of your family has to cope with? Is there a history of cancer in your family? Several studies in Germany from as early as 1929 and 1930 showed an overwhelming correlation between cancer and exposure to geopathic stress (GS). In 1934 many doctors believed GS was the main cause of cancer. Today we know that GS is just one contributing factor, however, if not taken into consideration it seems to complicate and prolong recovery significantly. If there is a health challenge, did it occur within a few years after moving into a new home?
(Good and bad sleeping places in study of Kaethe Bachler.)
How can one find out if geopathic stress is an issue? Here are a number of questions to determine if geopathic stress is an issue and needs to be addressed. Ask yourself: How do you sleep? Do you feel rested and fresh in the morning or exhausted and beaten up? Do you need a long time to fall asleep?
Stress makes us acidic, no matter if it is physical stress when digesting junk food, emotional stress from job or family, or geopathic stress in our bedroom. Acidity in general creates a milieu that benefits bacteria and viruses, promotes yeast and infections, makes blood sticky, and leads to cellular deterioration. In summary, stress accelerates rotting. However, in its self-healing effort a former healthy body can hold up for awhile, on average 5 to 8 years, until being seriously compromised.
Do you have trouble with ants or other insects in your house? Most insects thrive on geopathic stress. Ants always have their hill on a crossing of underground water and/or gridlines. Wasps, even ladybugs are attracted to those fields. Bees give up to 40% more honey in a geopathic stress zone. Does your cat prefer a special spot on your bed or favorite TV chair? It is general knowledge among dowsers, that cats are attracted to GS and therefore give us hints with their preference for their favorite spots in a house. Most other animals are harmed similar to humans. (Horses, cows, pigs, and dogs get sick as we do.) And here are some more questions related to electromagnetic exposure, which have a similar deteriorating effect on our health: Do you often get headaches when you talk on your cell phone (or cordless phone at home) for more than a few minutes? Cell phones are a health hazard with still unknown consequences. Have you ever noticed what you sign each time you renew your contract for your cell phone? You acknowledge the potential dangers connected with the use of such a phone and waive any right to later sue for health-related problems. Check out your contract... Do your children spend hours on their cell phone or with their computer games? How healthy do you think is it for kids with still developing brains to be exposed to those microwave frequencies? Do you feel drained after spending time in front of your computer? Most people feel exhausted within an hour or two on their computer. Nevertheless, computers for many of us are part of our work and it is practically impossible to avoid them. Do you own and use a microwave oven? We have written quite a bit on the disastrous effect of microwaves on our food, especially water. The heat produced in a microwave oven results from enhanced molecular vibration which translates into heat, but as a side effect, destroys natural structures. As we are made of 70 – 80% water, our body is especially vulnerable to this form of destruction. Do you keep a TV next to your bed? Again, we have discussed that before. There should be no electronic equipment in the room where we try to recover and recharge our life force energy.
Do you see signs of abnormal growth of trees or bushes around your house? Many trees grow crippled on geopathic stress. Other trees will grow sideways over the GS area before shooting up. Dead trees, which surround a home or business, can also be a signal for strong geopathic fields.
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European research throughout the last century correlates serious health challenges, including terminal illnesses, such as cancer, with geopathic causes. In the early 1930s some doctors believed geopathic stress was the sole reason for cancer. Today we know there are usually several contributing factors leading to such illness, but it seems that there is always a geopathic component included.
Geopathic stress keeps you up and wears you out. If the natural recovery mechanism between daily activity and nightly rest does not work properly it is just a question of time until the body breaks down and the immune system ends up compromised.
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No Single System of Health-Care Can Address the Infinite Variety of Life by Norm Hirst
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homeopath from India told me he was shocked that the President of the United States has only one physician representing only one medical system. In India the Prime Minister is required to have five physicians representing five different medical systems. This made sense to me. Medical systems are finite systems, as they have to be. The mind cannot encompass infinity. No finite system can encompass the infinite variety of reality or, in this case, health-care. I propose this as an important point to be aware of. No system of thought can encompass the infinite variety of reality! This becomes especially relevant in the ways we care for the body/mind.
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Back in the 70’s I was hired to design a very advanced hospital computer system. When we were ready for the pharmacy component I asked the hospital pharmacist if we should alert the doctors if they prescribed incompatible drugs. He thought it was a great idea but didn’t know where I would get compatibility information. There was some such information for a few drugs but in general they did not know. They prescribed an average of eight to ten drugs to each patient. I asked how they knew whether a worsening condition was due to the disease or the drugs. He sort of smiled and said I apparently had not heard of iatrogenic disease meaning, “doctor caused.” I had not. That experience made me look for alternatives. I found a psychiatrist who practiced homeopathy. He raved about how good he felt actually bringing relief to people for the first time. He enthusiastically explained the theory of homeopathy to me. I went home thinking it was the most nonsensical notions I had ever heard. Then I realized it wasn’t. Although it seemed to be nonsense, it couldn’t compete with what I heard in a course on quantum physics. I continued to investigate homeopathy and found much evidence in its favor. When I met the homeopath from India I made him my doctor and I saw enough to be convinced. Also, I will never forget asking an orthodox physician if he had heard about homeopathy. He answered that at home, he treated his family homeopathically. At work, he wrote prescriptions. I also met a doctor who treated a dying girl homeopathically and saved her life. All other doctors had left her to die saying there was no cure for her disease. But shocks to my thinking were not over. I knew a woman who developed a lump on her side. She told me there was a psychic surgeon visiting some friends. She was going to see him to have the lump removed. Of course I knew that psychic surgeons were frauds. The whole idea was absurd. I went with her to watch and maybe gloat a little. As I watched, the surgeon placed his fingertips on the lump. I saw her skin open exposing the lump. He lifted it out with his right hand leaving a red hole where the lump had been. When he removed his left hand her skin closed. There was not a sign that anything had been done except the lump was gone. There was no pain to the woman. To those who want to tell me he created an illusion, I leave it to them to explain how it was that lump was gone and remained gone. Long before I met her, Skye suffered a serious knee injury. Her doctors told her they could restore some function by operating but her knee would never be normal. Instead she went to a psychic surgeon. As he operated she sensed she was entering a different reality for a brief time. When he finished she walked home. As she walked her normal sense of reality returned. Her knee has been normal ever since. There are those who do demonstrations debunking psychic surgery. I saw such a demonstration on TV. It bore no resemblance to what I saw watching a psychic surgeon. It was what I might have imagined them doing if I did not believe. Perhaps the debunkers need debunking. During the nineteen years we have been together, Skye and I have investigated and been treated by acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs including Chinese herbs, kinesiology chiropractors, naturopathy, nutrition and Jin Shin Jyutsu. In her twenty-four years of practicing Jin Shin Jyutsu, Skye has experienced benefits on many levels from its miraculous holistic wisdom. Each of these body/mind approaches has shown more potential than orthodox medicine, convincing me that we are more entities of energy than merely physical entities. Current research by biochemists and biophysicists is tending to confirm this. Now I believe our bodies are not primarily physical entities, they are energy entities. He who can effect the energy can help the body cure itself. Being autopoietic, selfmaking, the body can cure itself and that is all that can cure it. He who can only work with the physical aspects cannot cure. There can be acute conditions where 30 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
orthodox high-tech treatment is all that will save a life. However, in less acute conditions where cure should be the goal, I don’t believe our medical system is designed to cure. Prescription drugs are “workarounds.” That means they do not restore the body to health. They just force it to function differently so the symptoms go away. When you are on a drug for life, you know there is no cure being attempted. I refer to the alternatives here as being energy medicine. They also involve different ways of observing and thinking. For example, homeopaths don’t observe or think in terms of disease categories. They work with remedies and their symptom pictures matching the symptom pictures of the remedies to the symptoms of the patient. There was a time when the FDA wanted to outlaw homeopathy unless the remedies were subject to standard double blind trials and were proven effective. This could not be done. Different people with the same disease will exhibit some similar and some different symptoms. Thus a homeopath will choose different remedies for different patients even though they have the same disease. Each of the energy medicine systems has its own unique way of observing and treating disease. What one system cannot see or treat, another might. They all should be available. Unfortunately in many areas of the US most of them are not available. Even where they do exist, people will go the orthodox route so insurance will pay. I believe we could save enormous sums of money if insurance paid for alternative care and we would get better health care. Finally, I think many believe that orthodox medicine is more scientific with all its miraculous technology. At this time there is no proper basis for scientific medicine. I believe there soon will be. For now all we have is empirical philosophies. My research has informed me that: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Our official medical system is the most expensive in the world. When compared to other countries for quality of care, our system does not rank well. Our medical care is the third-largest cause of death. Our system leads the world in error rates. One third of all patients are misdiagnosed.
Regarding error rates, I believe there are two possible causes. First, our bodies truly are holistic. With medicine divided into specialties the way it is, there are holistic effects that physicians won’t see. Second, technology can only be a finite system; the extensive dependency on technology can only lead to seeing the body/ mind in parts. The living entity as energy organized and constantly creating itself by holistic relationships cannot be studied in parts. What do physicians do when the MRI shows nothing? Or worse, how can they be sure that what the MRI shows really indicates what they think it does? In other countries, the technology is relied on less and the doctor spends more time getting to know the patient to fully diagnose. The result is less error. It is time to demand a new kind of health care that supports the way of Life-itself and to defend the freedom of choice that could be taken away if the “Codex laws” are imposed. It used to be thought that MD’s were the best authorities on treating disease. Given contemporary research, there are Ph.D.’s in biochemistry and biophysics that know far more. Unfortunately they are not considered the best authorities so they have difficulty being heard.1 We need a health system that embraces all the knowledge and specialties available to give us truly a holistic approach, not just for caring, but also for healing our body/minds. Here is a quote from Alfred North Whitehead; it is of the last thoughts he wrote, contributed by him to his festschrift volume: “The self-confidence of learned people is the comic tragedy of civilization.”2 No single system of thought can encompass the infinite variety of reality! 1. Molecules of Emotion by Candace B. Pert, Ph.D. 2. The Philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead,
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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explorin g the wo r l d r e l i g i on s Contemplative Silence – The Art of Tapping Into Our Source of Inner Wisdom and Guidance by James Bean
– like diamond will become easily possible [everyone in this world is sad and restless because of lack of true knowledge. This true knowledge can be attained only when the mind becomes quiet].” (verse from, The Sakhi Granth of Kabir) Through silence meditation we can “step outside the box.” Silence speaks volumes. The practice of receiving inner guidance or hearing the Voice or Life Impulse of God in the silence of contemplation is a universal teaching of all great saints and mystics. In, The Way of the Saints, speaking to both the need for guidance about more temporal matters as well as inner wisdom that leads to the eternal experience of Ultimate Reality, Kirpal Singh said, “There is a cardinal need for developing inner receptivity. The Master-Power, as you all know, is not confined to any particular place. It is working in and around you. You have but to turn your face towards Him inwardly to get the required help and guidance wherever necessary. Learn to sit still and be mentally still, and the silence thus generated with be more vocal than words spoken and written; and you will have an instantaneous solution not only to your own personal problems but to the problems of others as well... God is the Ocean of utmost and restful silence. So long as we cannot have this restful silence within us, the soul cannot listen to the Voice of silence arising out of the greatest depths of Silence. By following that Voice we can reach the source and fountainhead of the Great Silence called God and be blessed forever... In silence the heart illumines; veil after veil is removed. In the heart shines the Light, and the very silence becomes vocal giving vent to the Music of the Spheres reverberating in all creation.” Paramahansa Yogananda in, Metaphysical Meditations, guided souls into their own experience of inner wisdom and insight: “I will bring Thy presence consciously into my mind through meditation, in order to solve the problems life has sent me... Teach me to know that Thou art the power that keeps me healthy, prosperous, and seeking Thy truth... On the throne of silent thoughts the God of peace is directing my actions today... I will use my creative thinking ability to gain success in every worthwhile project that I undertake... I will attune myself to Thy wisdom-guided will to direct my habit-guided will. I will cultivate calmness of mind, knowing God is ever with me. I am Spirit!”
From the Depths Within, Living From the Center of One’s Being
The art of listening in the silence of meditation provides us with countless opportunities to see clearly without the usual day-to-day distractions, perceiving the events of our life from a higher vantage point. “Silence gives us a new way of looking at everything. We need this silence in order to touch souls.” (Mother Teresa) Silence allows angels to whisper advice into our ears. It also makes it possible for the authentic self to rise to the surface, introducing a new divine power or grace into this dimension of reality. It imparts insight, and ultimately, wisdom borne out of the depths or womb of contemplative silence gives birth to the realization of the soul itself. “There was within me a stillness of silence, and I heard the Blessedness whereby I knew my real self.” (Book of Allogenes [The “Stranger” or “Foreigner”], Nag Hammadi Library) 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.
The Starship Mahavira – Benevolent Beings of High-Tech ET Worlds?
Type One Civilizations – advanced life in the cosmos – would likely be peaceful, I suspect. No Klingons, Romulans, Borg, Nato or Warsaw Pact in space, as we have projected upon the "silver screen" of the cosmos in sci-fi movies. Michio Kaku has described any likely "Type Ones" out there as being in possession of awesome, god-like powers, using technologies that would allow them to tap into anti-matter and other galactic forces. I would imagine beings in possession of such power would have to also be adhering to an equally advanced spirituality and ethical philosophy of life. Otherwise, they simply could not exist for very long. If there were many disgruntled factions at war with each other in such a hypothesized Type One society, some supposedly sentient life form in a bad mood could conceivably let all the air out of a starship, venting the atmosphere into space. And there are always the classic "death rays" or EMPs of one sort or another, or blowing up entire planets in the name of some violent interstellar ideology. Given the potential destructive power and temptation that technology makes possible, the universe therefore must be a friendly place, or else perhaps there are few signals out there for SETI to receive on the cosmic radio dial. ...James Bean
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“Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us.” ("A Testament of Devotion," Thomas Kelly, Quaker mystic) In this matrix or labyrinth of existence we can become quite habituated into remaining as surface-dwellers living inundated by all the outward distractions that life on Earth provides. We may ask of ourselves, “Am I availing myself of the spiritual direction and wisdom that comes from within?” This would be a source of wisdom that not only provides an inner perception of bliss, insight, or affirms a “Truth” of some sort that one believes in, but also an inner intuition that can also make a positive contribution to one’s outward life on the physical plane. Mystics teach that the inner and outer life are not separate. There is a relationship between one and the other. A life-affirming state of being on the inside leads one to making the outward life into something more heavenly, too. There are both outward and inward avenues to wisdom. There is the wisdom of living teachers with us now, as well as the wisdom left behind in the form of world scriptures and spiritual classics by teachers of previous generations. “Through association with Masters, the hearing of spiritual talks and study, wisdom can be acquired. Wisdom is essential in determining what is the right way to live your life.” (Maharshi Mehi) “Let thy house be a place of meeting for the wise, and dust thyself with the dust of their feet, and drink their words with thirst.” (The Mishnah, Jewish text) “Approach someone who has realized the purpose of life and question him with reverence and devotion; he will instruct you in this wisdom. Once you attain it, you will never be deluded. You will see all creatures in the Self, and all in Me.” (Krishna, Bhagavad Gita) “The superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby.” (Confucianism. I Ching 26: Taming Power of the Great) “Without proverbs [traditional wisdom], the language would be but a skeleton without flesh, a body without a soul.” (Zulu Proverb, South Africa) “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.” (Yeshua, Gospel of Thomas) “Absorbed in the Scriptures and their purport, he transcends the cycle of birth and death.” (Jainist Sutra) Outward instruction and inspiration is priceless, and there is also an inner Voice of the Silence we can tap into. “There is a speaking of God in the core of the soul where no creature can enter or speak, for only God lives there and only He speaks. God speaks there when the soul puts aside all that is created, when she silences her powers and gains a vision into the foundation of her pure essence. In this pure and silent soul God the Father speaks and she hears His Voice.” (Meister Eckhart, German mystic) “The imaginations of the mind are just as innumerable as the innumerable waves of an ocean. If somehow this mind can become quiet by itself, attainment of true knowledge
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INNER TAPESTRY's Directory of Resources Holistic Practitioners, Products and Resources Each category contains practitioners from various states.
a c u p un c t u re
Acupuncture ......................................................... page 32 Alternative Living .................................................. page 32 Counseling & Therapy ................................... pages 32-33 Creative Healing Arts ........................................... page 33 Evolutionary Consciousness................................. page 33 Holistic Healing Centers ...................................... page 34 Hypnotherapy ...................................................... page 34 Integrative Healing ........................................ pages 34-36 Life Mastery ......................................................... page 36 Meditation ............................................................ page 36 Psychic & Spiritual Mediumship .......................... page 36 Reflexology & Healing Massage .......................... page 37 Retreats ............................................................... page 37 Sacred Space .......................................................page 38 Salons & Spas ..................................................... page 38 Schools & Trainings ...................................... pages 38-39 Shamanic Healing ................................................ page 39 Writing Services..................................................... page 40 Yoga, Tai Chi, Aikido ............................................. page 40
counseling & the rapy Maine
Maine
Abigail Lopez, LAc, Dipl.OM
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine Acupuncture guides the proper flow of energy within and stimulates our body’s natural healing response.
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In my practice I offer acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine; both have been used for healing for over 3,000 years and are safe, natural and drug-free methods to restore whole body health. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are effective for numerous conditions including: pain, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, depression, gynecological concerns and preventative care. I am committed to assisting all members of the family to experience total health and wellbeing. To learn more please contact Abigail at The Wellness Solution, 366 US Route 1, Falmouth, Maine, 04105, (207) 899-0727, www.thewellnesssolution.net.
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 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.
a l t e r n a t i ve livin g Maine
Live From Your Center
Greensward Hamlet
Greensward Hamlet
Patricia A. Burke, MSW, LCSW
A Co-housing Community In Buxton, Maine
Drawing on the Strength of Community To Live Sustainably. Maine’s first Green,
fossil free, co - housing 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. Ready to begin construction in 2009. Visit www.greenswardhamlet.com or www.cohousing.org. Or contact: Françoise Paradis, Ed.D. PO Box 1325, Saco, Me 04072 (207) 227-3678.
Mark Nakell, LCPC 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 heart is not simply suspended in a body but in a culture, a place, a time. ...Mimi Guarneri Art Courtesy of Dawn Hudson/Dreamstime
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33 cou ns e l i ng & t h e r apy- co n t . I am a clinical counselor and practitioner of Somatic Experiencing© with a private psychotherapy practice in Portland, Maine. My work integrates traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy and mindfulness in work with individual clients. The emphasis is on helping people learn to access the innate healing ability of the human body. The end goal is to heal trauma, stress, compulsions Douglas Smith and other challenges in order to enjoy an open, embodied flow of experience. I also teach workshops in somatics and sensory awareness for clinicians and others interested in mind-body integration. Most insurance accepted. For an appointment or more information please call, email or visit me on the web at www.mindmeetsbody.com. Douglas Smith, LCPC, SEP. 205 Ocean Avenue, Portland, ME 04103, (207) 773-7993 x19. smith@mindmeetsbody.com
creative healing arts-cont. 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," (207) 589-3063. moonarts@gmail.com.
Vermont
Nancy Roberts, Ph.D., Psy.D. Transformational Psychotherapy In my psychotherapy practice I deal with the concerns that bring most people into therapy: depression, anxiety, stress, and challenges with relationships and work. However, my transformational focus goes beyond
this to address the yearning that many people feel for a deeper sense of meaning and joy, and highlights an appreciation for spiritual paths to a more heart-centered life. Offices at 141 North Main Street in Brewer and 5
creative healing arts
with deep breathing to gather energy and then introduces soft, flowing movement and stretches to facilitate the smooth flow of that energy throughout the body. Based on the fundamental principles of yoga, tai chi and qigong, Zen Yoga is like nothing you have tried before. Prepare to feel wonderful! Our instructors create programs specifically designed to meet the needs of your group. We are available to teach workshops and stress relief programs throughout New England. We hold special retreats in the mountains of Vermont in September. Our Online Correspondence Course is a 12-week email program that provides tools to assist you on your journey of self-discovery. For more information: Phone: (860) 805-6551, Email: breathe@artofzenyoga.com, Website: www.artofzenyoga.com.
Maine 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.
Di re cto ry of R es our ce 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
evolutionary consciousness
Main e 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.
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 email: info@innertapestry.org
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School Street in Ellsworth. Telephone: 207-852-7656
Zen Yoga is a journey of spiritual deepening that begins with the breath. Zen Yoga begins
34 holistic healing centers
integrative healing
M a i ne Gardens of Atlantis Healing Arts Center The vessel that carries Gardens of Atlantis and all who come here, is a grand old Victorian Farmhouse that resides in the country, on a lazy river. We are dedicated to offering
events, classes and services that support you becoming all that Creator has planned for you. We have Soul Coach, Carol Cliche Reiki teacher/ practitioner Cindy McOsker, EFT/Meditation coach Jackie Belanger, Reconnective Healer Ruth Kirkwood, Herbalist Debbie Mercier, Sifu Kelcey Hart, IET training with Bobbi Arnold and many more interesting and inspiring folks! OH! And me, Linda Stilphen Massage Therapist! Let's take that journey together! (207) 929-5088, www.gardensofatlantis.org.
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.
Dragonfly, LLC Sandra Diamond, M.A., Ct.H.,RMT Journey through the Rivers of Time and Space, into the Lands of Wisdom and Healing.
Education and awakening for the curious, the aware and those who feel or hear a calling from within for change, growth and enlightenment of the physical, mental and spiritual vessels.
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Curious about words like crystallinity, consciousness, light body, or fascia? Come to Center to enrich your life and its purpose in a safe, nurturing, home-like atmosphere. Offering individual expression through various movement modalities and enhancing holistic therapies. Yamuna Body Rolling (www.yamunabodyrolling.com) , Yoga, Dance, Astrology classes, Crystal Consults/Therapies, Young Living Oils classes and treatments, Holistic Skincare and Body Therapies and a gallery of goods that support local and eclectic artists and writers. Singles, families, the youth and the wise... we welcome groups of any size. Be well. Visit us @ www.centerstudioandspa.com or call (207) 865-0086 for more info. Located in Freeport, off of exit 22.
Supporting client wellness, Sandra, is an internationally trained teacher, healer, registered Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master and has obtained a Masters in Experiential Health. She has studied Shamanic healing and counseling for more than six years and additionally, performs Soul Retrievals. Sandra was initiated as a Tamang Shaman in a Buddhist monastery in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, received certification in TuiNa, an ancient Chinese technique from the Xuan Wu hospital of Beijing and is certified by the Sixth Sun Foundation as a Toltec teacher under the auspices of don Miguel Ruiz. Sandra also leads annual trips to the pyramids at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Her background provides for a wide variety of techniques and experiences in support of her clients. Contact Sandra at (860) 665-9034, email Drgnflyllc@aol.com or visit www.dragonfly-llc.net.
hypnotherapy
M a i ne 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.
Main e Roberta Barnes, CHT, Gendai Reiki-ho & Komyo Reiki Shihan (teacher/master) & Herbalist Roberta teaches and practices as she learned from two of her teachers with only two teachers between themselves and Mikao Usui the founder of Usui Reiki Ryoho. Her Natural Healing &
Learning Center, nestled in a wildlife habitat, in Windsor, Maine, is the perfect environment to reflect the harmonizing essence of Mikao Usui's spiritual practice. Encased in harmonizing relaxation, you can be guided to return to your natural state of well-being by... * Learning styles of Japanese Usui Reiki, * Experiencing one or more Reiki healing sessions, * Learning to go within or outward through meditation,* Getting a personalized herb report, or * Observing a past life through a guided meditation. Bringing the collection of atoms that is you into balance and surrounding them with harmony heals mind body & spirit. Roberta will travel to teach groups of people, please contact her for details. Visit www.naturalhealinglearning.com or call (207) 445-5671 today to register for classes or schedule a session.
I am convinced that life in a physical body is meant to be an ecstatic experience. ...Shakti Gawain
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35 integrative healing–cont.
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 with questions or for more information.
"There is more hunger for Love and Acceptance in the world today than there is for bread." (Mother Teresa).
integrative healing–cont. Kevin Pennell, Usui and Karuna® Reiki Master Teacher/Herbalist/ Hypnotherapist/Shamanic Practitioner/Psychic Empath and Vickie Cummings, Licensed and Nationally Certified Massage Therapist/Cranio Sacral Therapist/Usui & Karuna® Reiki Practitioner:
SpiritWings CompassionateHealing
Massage – Including Therapeutic Massage – Seated Massage – Couples Massage and Outcalls available, Craniosacral Therapy, Herbal Consultations, Hypnotherapy, Reiki and Karuna® Reiki, Past Life Regression, Shamanic Services and Readings. We consult with each client to identify the appropriate modalities to achieve self-healing and overall well-being. We offer Reiki and Karuna® Reiki Classes plus other workshops to guide you on your spiritual journey. Visit SpiritWings apothecary for a cross-cultural variety of enchanting gifts, herbs, herbal tea blends, supplies and accessories to aid your spiritual journey, including Fair Traded and Quartz Singing Bowls, Books and Chimes. SpiritWings is conveniently located at 85 Main Street (across from the Post Office) in Bethel, Maine. Sessions by appointment. Store hours Tuesday through Saturday 10 - 5. Telephone (207) 824-2204 or visit us on the web at www.SpiritWingsBethel.com. Credit Cards accepted.
Dr. Adi Philpott
Osteopathic P hysician Acupuncture Practitioner, Certified Hypnotherapist, EF T-Adv Holistic Facial Rejuvenation
osteopathy, auriculotherapy (ear acupuncture), hypnotherapy, EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), and Quantum Touch Technique® modalities are highly effective in treating medical conditions and physical/emotional concerns as well as improving performance. These treatments offer excellent results in areas such as pain, stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, phobias, weight loss, smoking cessation, sports and public speaking. Free initial consultation. For more information or an appointment call (888) 598-5445. Conveniently located at, 222 St. John Street, Suite 130, Portland, ME. Now accepting insurance, www.DrPhilpott.com.
Sandra Maguire, Reiki Master
Energy Healing for Mind~Body~Spirit Student of Ayurvedic Medicine Sandra is a Reiki Master who incorporates Quantum Touch & Therapeutic Touch Techniques into her energy work sessions. She has a strong intuition, a compassionate
heart, and the desire to help people heal. Benefits of her work may include deep relaxation, anxiety and stress reduction, release of blocked feelings and emotions, support for the immune system, and improved meditation and self actualization. Her sessions are an opportunity to decompress and reconnect with yourself. Sandra will be a Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner in June 2010. Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine, with the belief that the mind, body, and spirit cannot be separated. Each and every person is looked at as an individual from every perspective, and treatment plans are devised as such. Educational seminars in Spring 2010. www.SandraMaguire.com (207) 838-1602 Facebook Fan Page: Sandra Maguire, Ayurvedic Health and Energy Healing, smaguire08@gmail.com, Windham, Maine.
Reiki with Crystals, Stones, Integrated Energy Therapy, Reading, Write-up. Our intuition guides us to the stones and crystals
necessary for our development. Reiki is introduced to balance the body, mind and spirit so your innate healing ability can be bolstered. If you choose, Integrated Energy Therapy is added. IET provides a simple and gentle way to open the flow of vital life force within the human body and energy field by integrating suppressed feelings from cellular memory and clearing their associated energy blockages. Your messages are discussed. A write-up (detailing the meanings of the stones, the meanings of the flowers, animals, etc. that I saw/ heard/felt during the session and any other messages received) is then sent to you. Call (207) 415-8638 or e-mail: fdyer@maine.rr.com for an appointment/more information.Visa/MC accepted. Jewelry, nature photos. Now in-town Portland, www.lilysongbird.com.
Shen THerapy Thai Bodywork
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@midmaine.com or phone (207) 326-3236.
Our bodies communicate to us clearly and specifically, if we are willing to listen to them. ...Shakti Gawain
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For those seeking gentle, safe, alternative methods to improve health and performance Dr. Philpott offers a multidisciplinary approach. Used alone or in combination,
FERN DYER - Reiki Master/IET Practitioner
36 integrative healing–cont. 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"
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 experiencing 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
meditation
Ocean of Possibilities Life Coaching Deborah Bergeron, CPCC, Certified Life Coach, Prosperity Guide
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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. 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
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) 368-5866, or email: James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com, Website: www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com/santmat.
coaching session or schedule of workshops call (207) 797-9007 or email: debcoaches@aol.com. Phone sessions available. www.oceanofpossibilities.com.
psychic & spiritual mediumship Maine
TAROTWORKS Jeanne Fiorini A tarot reading is an avenue by which to have an authentic conversation about what matters most in your life. Tarot Works provides numerous ways to
experience the wisdom and beauty of this ancient system of symbols, by offering individual and group readings, classes from beginner's level to "readers in training," ongoing monthly groups, and special events. Phone readings are available. With 18 years experience as a Tarot practitioner and teacher, and formal training in both mediation and psychosynthesis counseling, Jeanne brings a unique blend of practical guidance and useful information to all readings and classes. She is a contributing columnist for the American Tarot Association's website www.ata-tarot.com/reflections and is currently working on her second book, to be published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd., autumn 2010. For more information about Jeanne or the TarotWorks offerings, visit www.tarotworks.com or call (207) 799-8648.
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.
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 or email info@innertapestry.org 36 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
37 reflexology & healing massage Maine
retreats-cont. This land is a living resource! The 47 blessed
Hands on Feet ~ Lynn Danforth, Certified Reflexologist Reflexology is an amazing stress-relieving technique. Relaxation is a skill that most Americans do not practice often. Stress builds
and builds until it becomes a lifestyle. Lynn Marie Danforth has been practicing Reflexology for over 10 years. Lynn specializes in therapeutic Reflexology. Her greatest success is with tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and relief of tension. Lynn’s Reflexology sessions are quick, effective and could be the answer to your body’s cry for relief. Lynn has been able to show clients that change for the better is possible, that improved health is truly in your hands... and feet. To contact Lynn call (207) 767-5776 or 207-318-0129, or visit www.handsonfeet.net.
retreats Maine
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, 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.
The knowledgeable and experienced practitioners at The Wellness Center offer a full spectrum of holistic, traditional and alternative techniques.
VillageSoup.com. The Wellness Center, 69 & 71 Elm Street, Camden, ME 04843.
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.
Rolling Meadows, a 100 acre yoga and meditation retreat center over-looking the hills of coastal Maine, provides a unique environment for inner reflection away from the stimulation, demands and distractions of daily life. Scheduled silent retreats for up to 10 participants are offered
throughout the year blending meditation, creatively-explored hatha yoga, and guidance in the direct path of self-inquiry. Patricia Brown and Surya Chandra Das teach from 30 years of experience, encouraging students to cultivate intuitive receptivity and openness, guiding them to find the unique expression of their True Nature. They also teach retreats in Guatemala, Mexico and throughout the US. Rolling Meadows Retreat, Brooks, Maine, (888) 666-6412, www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com.
If we continue to focus on expanding ourselves... we can not "be" in a recession!
Sewall House Yoga Retreat Island Falls, Maine www.sewallhouse.com. (888) 235-2395 May – October.
TO BECOME PART OF THE INNER TAPESTRY COMMUNITY AS AN ADVERTISER, DISTRIBUTOR, CONTRIBUTING WRITER OR ARTIST
Call 207-799-7995 or visit www.Innertapestry.Org Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 37
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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
38 sacred space
schools & trainings Maine
Maine Earthrest offers indoor and outside gathering space for retreats, workshops, spiritual questing, ceremony and celebration. Come,
surround yourself with natural beauty in a country setting of organic gardens, open fields, woods and water where the land is still a little wild and the animals remember their true names. We are just 35 miles from Portland on 350 acres of very special land, nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains. Inside enjoy the large gathering spaces, both with fireplaces. Outside walk the land, the labyrinth and hiking trails. Many options available. FMI call Pat at (207) 625-4179 or email: earthrest@psouth.net.
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 more information, call Board Certified Foot & Hand Reflexologist Myra Achorn, Augusta (207) 626-FEET. Classes start in February, May & September, www.treatyourfeet.com. Licensed by the State of Maine Department of Education.
Mahoosuc Mountain Lodge and Husky Farm are nestled on 60 acres in the beautiful Bear River Valley of Newry in western Maine.
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The lodge is a traditional New England timberframe featuring hand-cut mortise and tenon joinery. It is the home base of Mahoosuc Guide Service and their working sled dogs (www.mahoosuc.com). In addition to the Lodge, the original 3-bedroom farmhouse built in 1903 has been renovated and is being operated as a Bed and Breakfast. Our views are dominated by the 3,500-4,000’ peaks of the Mahoosuc Range. We are: 1 mile to Grafton Notch State Park, 4.7 miles to the Appalachian Trail, 14 miles to Umbagog Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and 2 miles to the Grafton Loop Trail. Mahoosuc Mountain Lodge is a great facility to host a retreat, meetings, family reunions, dances/concerts, wedding or an outdoor activity. Please call Polly or Kevin at: (207) 824-2073 for more information or visit: www.mahoosucmountainlodge.com.
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.
salons & spas Maine
Holistic Facial Rejuvenation Take Beauty to the Next Level More than a cosmetic procedure, Holistic Facial Rejuvenation using ELR™ is a revitalization process for the entire body designed to make you look and feel renewed. Lose that under-eye “baggage!” Turn jowls into a
jaw-line! Look rested, awake and rejuvenated! A complete course of treatment is 10 to 12 sessions, but noticeable results occur after only 1-3 treatments. • Non-Surgical Facelift • Non-needle, Acupuncture-based • No Side Effects • No Pain • No Downtime for Healing • Holistic Anyone can benefit from ELR™ treatments. From acne to aging, ELR™ is a whole body rejuvenation that will bring your facial beauty to the next level!
Healing Ways of Kennebunk Reiki Certification Classes
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.”
Dr. Adi Philpott, 222 St. John St, Suite 130, Portland, ME 04102, (888) 598-5445, www.HolisticFacialRejuvenation.com. Osteopathic physician, Acupuncture practitioner. GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
Of one thing I am certain, the body is not the measure of healing - peace is the measure. ...George Melton
38 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
39 schools & trainings–cont. Chaplaincy Institute of Maine
Interfaith Spiritual Growth and Ordination World Religions, Art as Meditation, Creation Spirituality, Interfaith Worship
First Year: The Way of Contemplation • Second Year: The Way of Action The next two-year program begins September 2010
ChIME offers a two-year program for Interfaith Spiritual growth and possible ordination as an Interfaith Minister. Students commit to attending class one evening a week and one weekend a month September through May. Two weekend retreats are also built into the schedule. Some weekend workshops are open to the general public. Tuition for the two years is $5,400. Information and applications: ChIME Admissions, P.O. Box 3833, Portland, Maine 04104 (207) 347-6740 • chimeadmin@gmail.com • chimeofmaine.org
New Hampshire
The Center for Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts Would you like to learn how to arrange your environment to enhance your life? The Center for
D O R Y C OTE
…Follow the Path to Your Own True Essence. At
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, and this authorizes me to teach beginner and advanced shamanic healing methods. Please see my workshop schedule or make an appointment at www.earthlighthealing.com, email me at dory@dorycote.com, or call (207) 841-1215.
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 2010. More information about classes, private sessions, or ceremonies can be found at www.pachaworks.com or contact Eva directly at (207) 756-0488. "By
working with intentions of great love and spirit it is believed energy can move. A door opens and there is possibility of something new."
shamanic healing Maine Spirit Passages Allie Knowlton, MSW, DCSW & Evelyn Rysdyk As Spirit Passages, C. Allie Knowlton, MSW, DCSW and Evelyn C. Rysdyk (author of Modern Shamanic Living) have facilitated shamanic healings and taught shamanic workshops across the U.S. and Canada since 1991. Graduates of the Foundation
for Shamanic Studies 3-Year Program in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Healing, they have also been fortunate to study with indigenous shamans from Peru, Ecuador, Tuva and Siberia. Working heart-to-heart with Spirit, they offer all traditional forms of shamanic healings at True North (207) 781-4488 ~ a unique, multidisciplinary medical center that they helped to found. They may also be reached at: www.spiritpassages.com.
Debra Rainbow Heart Full Mesa Carrier & Lineage Keeper In the Andean Shamanic Tradition
Andean and Core Shamanism Healing Practices Munay-Ki Rites, Ceremonies & Despachos, Workshops, Mentorships, Classes & Retreats Energy medicine sessions on-site or at distance Shamanic Music & Visionary Art
I offer a safe, nurturing, sacred space for healing and transforming energetic patterns of fear/suffering into sources of wisdom, power and grace. Our work together might include: Shamanic Journeying, Deep Chakra Clearing and Illuminations, Soul Retrieval, Energy Extractions, Entity Removal, healing of soul or ancestral wounds from this or past lifetimes, rewriting Soul Contracts, the Munay-Ki Rites, energy-centered bodywork and/or ceremony. My offerings incorporate 25 years of study and practice with master teachers, indigenous medicine men and women and wisdom keepers of the Americas including: Q'ero elder Don Francisco Chura Flores of Peru, Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., Brooke Medicine Eagle and Foundation for Shamanic Studies Faculty, Nan Moss and David Corbin. info@rainbowheartshaman.com, (207) 929-6776, 59 Salmon Falls Road, Buxton, ME 04093, www.rainbowheartshaman.com www.munay-ki.org. Offering programs in Maine, New England, the Southwest and Peru.
He who loves the world as his body may be entrusted with the empire. ...Lao-tzu
Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 39
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Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts can teach you how to do just that! Feng shui is an amazing art and science revealing the patterns that our spaces hold. You’ll be inspired to employ timeless concepts and techniques, empowering yourself and others to thrive in contemporary times. Programs include feng shui certification, workshops, teleclasses and more. Onsite classes are held at Southern NH University, Salem, NH. Call Katina Lemay at (888) 211-2206 or go to www.center4fengshui.com for program details. Classes are for the general public as well as those seeking certification. You’ll also find us on the Diva Toolbox radio twice monthly. To listen, go to: www.divatoolbox.com and click on radio programs. You can listen live or to past episodes.
shamanic healing-cont.
40 writing services Connecticut
Yoga ~ T'ai Chi ~ Aikido Connecticut COLCHESTER, CROMWELL, EAST HAMPTON, PORTLAND & WESTCHESTER Yoga for Health
Does your promotional material deliver results for your business? Does it
align with the higher purpose of your business? An experienced writer, Karen creates promotional copy that establishes the value your product/service offers potential customers. Karen writes content for book jackets, ads, brochures, newsletters, press releases, websites, professional bios and more. She has authored as well as ghostwritten articles, profiles, book content, reviews and local news stories. Her work appears in local, regional and national wellness and spirituality publications. Let Karen create copy that speaks directly to your target audience—with clarity, integrity and creativity. (860) 638-8140 or email Karen at KarenMRider@comcast.net.
Maine
The Village Scribe The Wellness Center, Camden, Maine
207.344.7070
TheVillageScribe@hotmail.com Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
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.
Deadlines for the Directory of Resources To Reserve space March 1st For all graphic and text material March 5th
Yoga ~ T'ai Chi 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: (413) 595-9092 or (207) 799-7995 or Email: info@innertapestry.org. 40 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
Marcie Loffredo, RYT ~ No experience needed. Styles of Yoga: Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow, Hot Yoga, Back Care, Stretch and Tone, Weight Loss, Yoga-lates (combo of Yoga and Pilates), meditation, and relaxation. Visit our website for details www.yoga-4-health.com or email us at marcialoffredo@sbcglobal.net or call (860) 267-8279.
GLASTONBURY 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.
Maine BRUNSWICK Human Element Center
The art of movement and the role that it plays in our well-being cannot be underestimated. Come join us in one of our regularly scheduled Tai Chi, QiGong and meditation classes and explore movement with joy. Check out our schedule at www.humanelementcenter.com or call us at (207) 710-0331. Fort Andross Building, 14 Maine Street, Suite 410, Brunswick, ME 04011.
GORHAM Holistic Pathways Yoga & Healing Center Offering YOGA ONLINE. Now practice yoga in your home with a detailed 8-week series! In-studio classes available—all ages/abilities including Pregnancy Yoga, Family Yoga and Toning & Sculpting. Postures, breathwork, meditation and relaxation. (207) 839-7192. www.holisticpathways.com.
PORTLAND WholeHeart Yoga Center Portland's Kripalu-affiliated studio offers a full schedule of weekly classes for all levels. Our instructors are all Kripalu-certified and highly trained. We also offer weekend workshops, private instruction, and Kirtans (chanting events). 150 St. John Street, Portland. (207) 871-8274, www.wholeheartyoga.com or email: info@wholeheartyoga.com.
Our thanks to the many who support our community.
41 Continued from page 16 ~ modern shamanic living ~ A Better State of Mind... 7. Find or develop a reason for your life In my mind, a rich life is when you have something outside of yourself that excites you about getting up in the morning. Whether it is a job that you love, a friend that could use some support, volunteer work or something else, it is vital to have some passion that motivates you. Finding yours and nurturing one if you already have identified it is an essential part of feeling good about life. Keep trying things until you find just the activity that generates inner excitement. 8. Fake it ‘til you make it! Sounds weird, but this can actually help to you feel better. Studies of athletes have shown that practicing a task mentally can actually train the brain to do it well. I’ve found that the reverse is also true in that by engaging in pleasurable actions you can actually improve your mental state. If you find yourself thinking, “If I wasn’t feeling so depressed I could (insert activity here)” then start doing the activity even though you don’t yet “feel like it!” Often, the simple act of getting busy with something that you desire to do can transform your mood. I liken this approach to the practice of Laughter Yoga. In a typical session of this unusual form of eastern exercise, the group practices “fake,” exaggerated laughter. Invariably, after a period of this practice, authentic laughter erupts spontaneously! (Here is a link to a video of John Cleese visiting a Mumbai Laughter Yoga group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y XEfjVnYkqM&feature=player_embedded) 9. Enter into a relationship with Spirit In my personal experience, having a connection to the numinous world of spirit is a salve to my heart and mind. The direction one takes to the Divine is a personal choice. You may find prayer or meditation is your path. For others it might be in church and for others like myself, shamanic spirituality and journeying. Which ever route that you choose, open yourself to the limitlessness of All That Is. Within the
vastness of the All, it is possible to find context for your life and be given meaning that can sustain you even in difficult times. 10. Get more support Friends and family can be a help but also a hindrance when you are struggling with sad or depressed feelings. Oftentimes, entering into a brief course of psychotherapy or shamanic counseling can help you to understand the root of your feelings and how you can really feel better. (More information about shamanic counseling as a healing modality can be found at: http://www.spiritpassages.com/ shamaniccounseling.html.) We humans are social creatures and spending time in the company of trained, supportive people can make a huge difference in your overall well being. This is particularly important to remember as the television ads run by “Big Pharma” would lead you to believe that your mood issue is based upon some kind of medication deficiency! In fact, reliance upon medications to ameliorate symptoms rarely if ever resolves the underlying causes of depression or anxiety. Getting to the root of your emotional and/or physical issues, attending to what needs healing and having a strategy for living in balance is the best path to emotional freedom and inner harmony. © 2010 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 web site is www.spiritpassages.com.
Fertilizer Exposure to fertilizer accounted for over 2,000 calls from pet parents who needed help in an emergency that had to do with their pets being poisoned by lawn/garden fertilizer.*
7. Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs 8. Acetaminophen/various over-the-counter medications 9. Anticoagulant Rodenticides 10. Amphetamines/diet suppression/ADD/narcolepsy/MDMA(ecstasy)
Prevention Tip
In the event of an emergency pet parents can:
Vomiting and diarrhea are common symptoms of fertilizer poisoning. If overexposed, some fertilizers and mulch can cause a pet to die. Typically, pets will eat the grass or garden mulch, exposure can also happen through skin absorption and inhalation. Anything applied to the grass or garden should be questioned. Non-toxic and chemical free products are now available at most garden centers or online. Pets can have a pet friendly part of the yard while pet owners grow their gardens outside their pet’s areas. Other ideas include re-seeding the lawn and growing new fresh grass instead of using fertilizers. Mulching the lawn and leaving grass cuttings in-between mowing can protect the roots of the grass, prevent burning and encourage a thicker greener lawn. For gardens, natural left-overs from the kitchen made into compost could be considered. Contact a local garden center for classes and/or advice on organic gardening using Mother Nature as a guide.
• Call their Family Veterinarian • Call the Local Emergency Vet Clinic • Contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee may apply)
Top 10 Toxins to Dogs Resource: http://www.aspcapro.org/animal-poison-control/documents/ zm-vetm0306_142-148.pdf 1. Ibuprofen/anti-inflammatory/pain relief 2. Chocolate 3. Ant/Roach baits 4. Rodenticides/rodent traps 5. Acetaminophen/various over-the-counter medications 6. Pseudoephedrine/common in cold medications 7. Thyroid Hormones 8. Bleach 9. Fertilizer 10. Hydrocarbons/paints/varnishes/furniture polish/fuel oil/engine cleaner/ various household products Top 10 toxins to Cats Resource: http://www.aspcapro.org/animal-poison-control/documents/ zl-vetm0606_339-342.pdf 1. Canine Permethrine Insecticides 2. Other Topical Insecticides 3. Venlafaxine/antidepressant 4. Glow Jewelry & Sticks 5. Lilies 6. Liquid Potpourri
Information on hand should include: 1. Species 2. Breed 3. Age 4. Sex 5. Weight 6. Number of animals involved 7. Symptoms 8. Information of exposure/agent (if known)/Poisonous substance/Packaging Product Container 9. Time of exposure and time elapsed since exposure If your pet has lost consciousness, is having difficulty breathing or is having seizures: 1. Phone your veterinarian’s office or emergency care clinic 2. Alert them to possible poisoning issues 3. Give them an estimated time of arrival 4. Help them prepare for your emergency care needs Keeping our pets safe and away from toxic substances is one of the most important and responsible choices a pet owner can make. Accidents can happen, however prevention is the solution to avoiding potentially life-threatening situations. Enjoy re-organizing the garage, garden shed or your home into a petfriendly environment that’s healthy and safe. You’ll undoubtedly enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing your pet is out of harm’s way. *Online source ASPCA: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/top-10pet-poisons-of-2008.html
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. Visit them online at www.responsiblepetowner.com. Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 41
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Continued from page 24 ~ Practicing Safety First With Our Pets
42
Calendar and Classified
Guidelines And Advertising Rates Are Located on Page 44
H eart V isions March 6th & 7th, April 10 & 11th, May 15th & 16th Wei Chi Level One Training with Dr. Kevin Ross Emery Saturday 10:00am-7:00pm, Sundays 9:00am-6:00pm, Caring Hands Center for Massage and Well Being, 55 Wingate Street, Haverhill, MA FMI: (603) 867-4564, www.weboflight.com.
March 14th-21st Women’s Holistic Yoga Meditation Eco-Retreat in the Caribbean at Virgin Island’s renowned eco-resort Maho Bay, St. John, $1260.00. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
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March 14th-17th Celtic Spirituality: The Wisdom of the Divine Feminine With Megan Don at Kripalu Institute, www.kripalu.org.
May through October Greenwood Herbals 2010 Herbal Apprenticeship A beginner's hands-on 6 month program meeting one weekend a month. The focus will be on native plant identification and use as well as to learn how to work with plants in our daily lives. FMI contact Debbie Mercier, Herbalist at herbalist@greenwoodherbals.com or visit www.greenwoodherbals.com.
May 16th-22nd Avila, Spain: Walking with Teresa of Avila (2 spaces left) www.mysticpeace.com.
June 14th-23rd Ireland Pilgrimage: Exploring the Divine Feminine www.mysticpeace.com.
October 2010 200 Hour Teacher Training in Costa Rica FMI: www.ShivaShaktiYogaSchool,com, (207) 431-8079.
May 24th-29th, 2011 Assisi, Italy Know the wisdom of St. Clare and St. Francis and the sacred silence of the stones of Assisi 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.
February~Connecticut February 24th, Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm Willimantic - Windham Hospital Integrative Health Services "For The Health of It" Lecture Introduction to Meridian Tapping Techniques & EFT - Rebecca Gurland in Bernard & Desrosier Rooms 112 Mansfield Ave., Willimantic, CT. For more information call (860) 456-6002, Cost: Free
February ~ Maine February 6th & 7th, 9:00am-4:00pm both days 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, Sophia’s Wisdom @ (207) 356-2662.
42 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
February 13th, 20th & 27th, 9:30am–1:30pm Okuden (level 2) Gendai Reiki-Ho
March 6th & 14th, 9:00am-4:00pm both days Usui Reiki II Workshop
Taught by Roberta Barnes, who has only 3 teachers between herself and Mikao Usui. Learning to know universal energy releases need for memorization. www.naturalhealinglearning. com. Register at (207) 445-5671, Windsor, ME.
Learn symbols augmenting Reiki energy, treatment techniques, Reiki techniques, and guided meditation. Ample practice time. FMI-Yvonne Thibodeau, Sophia’s Wisdom @ (207) 356-2662.
February 20th, 7:00pm & February 21st, 2:00-5:00pm, Chanting & Workshop with Krishna Das February 20th, Chanting and February 21st, Workshop. Landing at Pine Point, 353 Pine Point Rd., Scarborough, ME www.krishnadas.com, (207) 233-6846.
February 20th & 27th, 9:00am-4:00pm both Saturdays Karuna® 1 & 2 Practioner Workshop: Karuna-Compassion in Sanskrit. Learn Karuna symbols and their uses, toning with symbols, giving treatments, and much more. Ample practice time. FMI- Yvonne Thibodeau, Sophia’s Wisdom @ (207) 356-2662.
February 27th, Saturday Sacred Sounds, Sacred Self Workshop and Gong Bath Chakra & Sound Workshop 12:30pm-4:30pm $75 Evening Gong Bath 7:00pm, $30, attendance at workshop not required for evening event. Come experience the Resonant Voices of the Spheres and the healing work of the gongs. Please bring water, wear comfy clothes, and something comfortable to lie on, we will be on the floor. Falmouth, ME FMI: (207) 799-7995. (see page 11)
February~Massachusetts February 20th, 9:00am-4:00pm Rings of Oden–Module 2: Soar to New Heights! The Rings combine Sacred Geometry, DNA Re-Patterning, Crop Circles, and Cell Microbiology concepts as part of a revolutionary technology, “Net-Neutral Ionic Energy.” This advanced module includes over 50 new advanced configurations, 20 new on-the-body techniques, and more. Details at www.TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
February 27th I.D.E.A.L. Process (5) The Real Quantum Leap to a Successful and Fulfilling Life Fifth class in series; Prerequisite: EOL Workshops 1-4. Presented by EOL Founders Sue and Aaron Singleton. $175; Early-Pay discount; 9.6 Contact Hours. Details: Visit www.TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
February~NewHampshire February 8th-12th Module I: Fundamentals of Feng Shui The Center for Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts, For more information call Katina Lemay at (888) 211-2206 or visit www.center4fengshui.com.
March 11th-14th and March 18th-21st Dogsledding with Mahoosuc Guide Service. Overnight trips on the weekends, heated canvas wall tents with fir bough floors. Day trips mid week. Owner guided, wholesome food, www.mahoosuc.com or (207) 824-2073.
March 18th-21st Moving Through Grief, Trauma & Loss A Residential Workshop at Notre Dame Spiritual Center, Alfred, ME. Grief, Burnout, Depression, Professional Caregivers FMI: Paul Matteson (207) 753-0135, paul@edgebrook.org
March 20th, 11:00am-5:00pm Topsham-Brunswick Holistic Health Fair at “New England Medical Fitness,” Topsham, Maine. Free admission & ongoing workshops. Featuring exhibits with holistic health practitioners, physicians, Reiki practitioners, massage therapists, and metaphysical products, readers and services. For more info visit http://theenchanteddragon. shutterfly.com/holisticmysticfair or www.forestcircles.com or call Mary at (207) 446-7868. Snow date Sunday March 21st.
March 26th & 27th, Basic Pranic Healing March 27th & 28th, Pranic Psychotherapy Opal Consulting Health & Wellness Center, Norway, ME FMI: www.opalconsulting.biz, (207) 743-5247.
March~Massachusetts March 20th I.D.E.A.L. Process (6) Heighten Discernment and Engage 9 Crucial Laws for Manifestation. Sixth class in series; Prerequisite: EOL Workshops 1-5. Presented by EOL Founders Sue and Aaron Singleton. $175; Early-Pay discount; 9.6 Contact Hours. Details: Visit www.TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.
March~NewHampshire March 22th-26th Module II: Heaven, Earth and Man The Center for Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts, For more information call Katina Lemay at (888) 211-2206 or visit www.center4fengshui.com.
March 27th Fashion Feng Shui The Center for Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts, For more information call Katina Lemay at (888) 211-2206 or visit www.center4fengshui.com.
March ~ Connecticut Upco mi n g M ai ne March 31st, Wednesday, 7:00pm-9:00pm Willimantic - Windham Hospital Integrative Health Services "For The Health of It" Lecture Local Farms, Local Food, in Bernard & Desrosier Rooms 112 Mansfield Ave., Willimantic, CT. For more information call (860) 456-6002, Cost: Free
March ~ Maine March 5th-7th Wellness Retreat at Snowbird Lodge in Harrison.
April 10th & 17th, 9:00am-4:00pm, both Saturdays Usui Reiki III, ART Workshop: Advanced practitioner attunement and techniques, working with crystals and the Reiki Grid, meditation and aura balancing techniques. Ample practice time. Must have completed Reiki I. FMI-Yvonne Thibodeau, Sophia’s Wisdom @ (207) 356-2662.
April 10th-11th Relationship Retreat $120.00 At Nurture Through Nature’s Green Retreat Center Denmark, Maine, www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
Come relax in this peaceful setting with yoga, bodywork, snowshoeing, sauna, and more. Contact Rebecca at (207) 749-4150 for more details. lawindwellness.com.
March 6th,13th & 20th, 9:30am–1:30pm Shoden (level 1) Gendai Reiki-Ho Taught by Roberta Barnes, who has only 3 teachers between herself and Mikao Usui. Learning to know universal energy releases need for memorization. www.naturalhealinglearning. com. Register at (207) 445-5671, Windsor, ME.
Send all listings to
info@innertapestry.org
43 April 22nd-May 27th, Thursday evenings 6:30pm-9:00pm Level I Mentorship The Munay-Ki Great Rites of Enlightenment Open your Heart to the Power of Munay - Love in Motion. Engage all nine rites, mystery teachings and transformational ceremonies seeding your luminous body to hold the highest vibrations of universal love. A deeply transformational and empowering journey! 15 contact hours, resource materials including a DVD & MunayKi Pi Stone: $288 Facilitated by Debra Rainbow Heart at RiverRest, 59 Salmon Falls Road, Buxton, ME 04093 FMI: www.rainbowheartshaman.com info@rainbowheartshaman.com, (207) 929-6776.
April 23rd-25th Yoga & Meditation Retreat w/Surya Chandra Das Yoga postures, pranayama, restorative poses, meditation, selfinquiry, silence, organic vegetarian meals, free time at quiet 100-acre country sanctuary. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com (888) 666-6412.
June 18th-20th Summer Solstice Holistic Retreat for Women $395.00 Nurture Your Soul with Nurture Through Nature, www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
UpcomingNewHampshire May 17th-21st Module III: Immersion in the Energetic Realms The Center for Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts, For more information call Katina Lemay at (888) 211-2206 or visit www. center4fengshui.com.
Ongoing~Connecticut Sunday ~ Bhakti-Yoga Festival – 5:00pm
Taoist Tai Chi TM Internal Arts of Health
Sharon Elaina would like you to know…
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, Bridgton, Brownfield & Blue Hill. FMI: (207) 329-4346, or email: portland.me@taoist.org.
that women's groups have begun in her new space at 925 Sawyer St., So. Portland. Tuesdays 6:00pm and Thursdays 12:00pm. Groups are limited to 8. Please call (207) 247-2650 for more information.
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 Hassenpflug (207) 592-7888.
Sunday Night: Portland Spiritualist Church meets at 719 Main Street, Westbrook (UU Church) for 6:30pm Service, Healing Meditation, Inspirational Talk, Messages from Spirit. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.
Fourth Friday of each month - Gallery Readings. Join us at the Portland Spiritualist Church, 719 Main Street, Westbrook (UU Church) for an evening of messages from Spirit. 7:00pm $10 event. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.
Friday Night: Weekly Psychic Development and Awareness Classes, except for the 4th Friday which is Gallery Readings - see above. Portland Spiritualist Church, 719 Main Street, Westbrook (UU Church). Classes start at 7:30pm. Most classes are by donation. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.
Satsang/Meditation ~ Camden/Lincolnville. Silent meditation based on works of H.W.L. Poonja & Ramana Maharshi. Tapes, Readings & Films too. Meetings Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm. Info Call: (207) 763-3860.
"Positively Moody Blues" radio show
Holistic Moms Network
Meditation and Buddhism:
National non-profit organization for parents with an interest in holistic health and green living. Visit www.holisticmoms.org to find a local chapter.
Nagaloka is a spiritual community that provides space for individuals to explore and practice Buddhism. Weekly mediation sessions, retreats and introductory classes on meditation and Buddhism are scheduled regularly. Bookstore, too! www.nagalokabuddhistcenter.org.
Ongoing Monthly Group Reiki Sessions
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.
ECKANKAR Temple of CT -- a place for all who love God. 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. The Temple is located at the corner of Rte. 66 and Harvestwood Rd. Middlefield, CT. For information call (860) 346-2226; website: www.ct-eckankar.org
On g oi ng ~ M aine
Kirtan at Portland Yoga Studio, 1st and 3rd Fridays 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, ME. FMI: www.portlandyoga.com.
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. Next meetings are February 21st and March 21st.
Qigong and Tai Chi Easy classes starting in February Qigong is the gentle Chinese art of movement and breath that has profound health and spiritual benefits. Tai Chi Easy is a series of Tai Chi movements that are easy to learn and promote brain health, physical healing, and relief from stress. Both are starting at the end of January and going through the spring semester at The Awake Collective, The Landing Center, and Meadow Wind. Please call Ann Walker, certified IIQTC Qigong and Tai Chi instructor at (207) 699-4299 for more information.
The New Moon Rituals with Chief Oscar Mokeme www.africantribalartmuseum.org and the class "Developing Your Personal Healing Gifts" with teacher, healer and medical intuitive Regina Strongheart at "Forest Circles," Topsham, Maine, www.forestcircles.com.
Tuesday Buddhist Meditation We practice Dzogchen Meditation; Natural Love and Awareness; and Natural Compassion and Awareness. 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.
MOOSE Open Microphone-Spoken Word The Maine Organization Of Storytelling Enthusiasts serving the Storytelling Community of Maine meets monthly on the second Wednesday from 7:00pm-9:00pm at the North Star Cafe in Portland. http://mooseevent.bravehost.com.
Earthrest Discussion Series
Gallery-style Tarot readings for all those in attendance. South Portland location 6:30pm-9:30pm. $25. Group size limited; register early! FMI/Register Jeanne Fiorini (207) 799-8648.
Energize! A holistic approach to performance Energy balancing sessions for artists, actors, and performers, recover your highest creative self. Post-performance rebalancing. $80 ($70 students) Holistic Pathways, Gorham, (207) 839-9819 www.starlightacting.org.
The Womanly Art of Self Defense and Empowerment Ongoing course for women, awareness & prevention skills, verbal self-defense & empowerment, basic self-defense techniques. (207) 266-4902, Trenton Family Karate, Trenton/Ellsworth area.
Hatha Yoga, Meditation, Satsang Classes in Psychological & Spiritual Development & more. Based in the Tradition of the Himalayan Sages. North Yarmouth. For full listing, see www.TurningLight.org (207) 829-2700.
The Path of Celtic Buddhism Celtic Buddist meditation in Rockland, ME. Group practice on Sunday mornings at 8:30am. Please call for information (207) 701-5022, heartln@sover.net, www.celticbuddhism.org.
"Yokids" Yoga Ed Tools for Teachers Workshops 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.
Thank God It's Grace: Women in God, Women in Good Please join Women In God each Thursday, 4:30pm-5:30pm at Meadow Wind 100 Gray Road, Falmouth, for an hour of peace, grace and spiritually-based conversation. Women in God is a non-denominational spiritual support group that welcomes all women on a path of love, hope and inspiration. For more information call (207) 233-7658, or visit www.womeningod.com.
The Birth House Bridgton's new freestanding birth center hosts monthly tours on the first Thursday, 6:30pm-7:00pm. Stay for free informational sessions. www.birthhouseme.com or (207) 647-5919.
Wavelengths Hypnotherapy ongoing classes: 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, ME.
Real-ize Your Integral Potentials Real-ize your multidimensional self! Integral Energy Healing ~ Explorations in Consciousness ~ Leadership in Consciousness ~ Life Transformations. We offer sessions, classes, circles and workshops. Elizabeth@IntegralPotentials.com (207) 873-3514.
Kittery, ME: Rawfood Potlucks, 5:00pm Third Saturday of each month, with guest speakers from the rawfood community. Support, learn, share, and build a local rawfood community. Call Aimee, (207) 409-0899.
Inner Light Church of Spiritualism, Rev. Gloria Nye Location: Governor King Lodge 649, U.S. Route 1, Scarborough, ME, Sunday Services: 10:00am Healing Chairs, 10:30am Service, Healing Meditation, Inspirational Talk, Messages from Spirit, 12:00pm Fellowship Hour – Refreshments.
Earthrest is offering a series of weekly discussion groups using workbooks developed by Northwest Earth Institute: Sustainable Living, Deep Ecology, Global Warming. FMI: (207) 625-4179 or earthrest@psouth.net.
Ayurvedic Massage
Nia With Maggie Bokor
Reiki Works offers all levels of Reiki
Find bliss in your body! Nia is barefoot movement blending dance, yoga and martial arts. Check out Maggie's Portland area classes at www.dancenia.com, (207) 899-5939.
Classes, sessions and free clinics. For schedule please contact Andrea Smith, B.S. Rehabilitation at reikiworks@beeline-online.net (207) 474-9962.
ShivaShakti School of Yoga, Rockland
Dragonfly Taijiquan, Larry Ira Landau
Give yourself the gift of Yoga! Ongoing weekly classes morning and evening for all levels. Call (207) 431-8079 or visit www.ShivaShaktiYogaSchool.com.
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.
Yoga Class in Windham
Experience Abhyanga, Garshana and Shirodhara, the ancient healing bodywork techniques of India. Ruthanne Harrison, LMT. Located in Richmond, ME (207) 737-8593.
Mondays 9:00am-10:15am and Wednesdays, 5:30pm-6:45pm at the Masonic Hall on River Road. Please contact Rebecca at (207) 749-4150 for more information, www.lawindwellness.com.
Reiki - Healing Ways of Kennebunk
Spiritual Horizons Maine
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.
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.org.
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Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 43
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Individual & Group Reiki Sessions, Reiki Shares & Classes. Please call Carleen, RMT at (860) 642-7410 for more information.
with Astrologer Ananur Forma every Thursday, 8:00pm9:00pm, streaming online www.wrfr.org. Ananur will be playing only the music of the positive, ever-uplifting Moody Blues from past to future. Ananur will sprinkle in a little astrological information when she does the weather forecast; other than that it's all Moody Blues! For more information: (207) 594-0721. WRFR community radio for the people by the people.
Join us for kirtan, philosophy and vegetarian dinner. No charge. Hare Krishna Temple. 1683 Main St. East Hartford CT 06108 (860) 289-7252, www.iskconct.org.
Tarot Readings - Third Thursday each Month
44 SpiritWings–Workshops, Reiki Classes in Bethel ME
Experience the healing of Love without conditions
Reiki Share second Tuesday of every month. Well-Being and Healing Classes Regularly. Offering Tibetan/Usui and Karuna® Reiki-Meditation Classes and Ancestral Healing, which examines various methods of healing employed by our ancestors. For further information call (207) 824-2204 or visit website www.spiritwingsbethel.com.
Ongoing classes. Learn the freedom of healing without limitations. Shamballa 1-4 and 13D Certification. Contact Elizabeth, Center of Momentum, (207) 873-3514, or centerofmomentum@hotmail.com.
Doula tea, meet with doulas in person Learn how doulas help families during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. We meet Sundays at the Birth Roots, 101 State St., Portland from 4:00pm-5:00pm. There is no fee, preregistration is required. Call Rebecca Goodwin at (207) 318-8272.
Stretch, Relax and Recharge Through YOGA 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, frop 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.
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.
Planetary Activation Organization in Maine Is actively looking for people to join this group. For info visit www.paoweb.com. If interested, call (207) 743-2613, E-mail bobham@adelphia.net, or write Maria Ham, 51 BumpTown Rd, South Paris, ME 04281.
Children’s Aikido Kokikai Class Josiah Bartlett Elementary School in Bartlett NH, The Ballroom in Harrison Maine, Water and Stone Yoga Studio in Conway, NH, Contact Jane Biggio for more information at (603) 374-6326 or email at bamboomountain@ncia.net.
Holistic Pathways Yoga & Healing Center, Gorham.
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Energy Vibrational Healing Therapies including Polarity and Energy Interference Patterning of DNA. Ongoing Reiki & Therapeutic Touch classes. FMI: (207)-839-7192, www.holisticpathways.com.
Artists Support Group, Inner Balance, Belfast, ME On 156 High Street. Third Tuesday of the month from 7:00pm-8:30pm. Call Elliot Benjamin at (207) 338-4576.
Mindful Meditation™ Thursdays, 12:00pm-1:00pm All are welcome, no experience necessary. $15 or 4 classes for $50. Mind/Body Therapy at Cancer Community Center 778 Main Street, South Portland, Maine, (207) 650-3964, FMI www.mbtherapy.org.
The Rose Cottage Teaching Reiki Master, Transformational Breath, Crystal Healing, Hypnotherapy, and Hypnobirthing. Private sessions by appointment. Gift certificates. Ongoing classes. Contact Vicki Kupferman 14 Weed Rd., Knox, Maine. (207) 568-3782.
Kripalu “DansKinetics” The body, mind, spirit workout blending yoga and dance. No experience necessary. Free trial class. Days Meadow Farm, 889 Alewive Rd. Kennebunk. (207) 985-6896 or: daysmeadowfarm@prexar.com.
Sacred Circle Dance Dances from a multi-cultural folk dance tradition. Steps taught at all sessions. No experience/partner needed. Fourth Friday of every month, 7:00pm-8:30pm, Portsmouth, NH. FMI: amyla44@juno.com, (603) 750-7506.
Classified Listings HEALING PLACES
Short-term Solutions-oriented Couples & Family Work Guiding Couples & Families from conflict to communication, from disengaged to connected, from hurting to resolution. Group and private sessions. Call Maureen McCarty-Darling at (207) 975-5200.
Wise Women Daughters of the Moon Ceremonial Wisdom Circle honoring our Inner & Outer Seasons & Cycles. Sliding Scale. FMI: www.spiritualrenaissance.com, www.templeoftheheart.com or call Deborah, spiritual guide, priestess: (207) 883-1081.
Belfast Yoga Studio. Iyengar style Hatha Yoga All levels including, Beginner, Level I, Level II, Gentle & Private classes & workshops. For more info and schedule see www.belfastyoga.com or call (207) 338-3930/338-4256.
Aaminah School Of Middle Eastern Dance
Eco-Retreat in a Solar-Powered, wood-fired cabin. Experience deep quiet and nature's beauty in a solar-powered, wood-heated eco-cabin getaway at Nurture Through Nature Green Retreat Center in Denmark, Maine, only an hour from Portland/Freeport/Lewiston, ME and 2 hours northwest of Portsmouth. Cost $59-$65/night for one-two. Add $20 each additional person. Two cabins available, both sleep four. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.
PRACTITIONERS
Reconnective Healing Evolutionary Healing Frequencies on the planet for the first time! Book sessions with Ruth Kirkwood, certified Reconnective Healer I,II @ (207) 773-1406 or Gardens of Atlantis, (207) 929-5088.
SACRED RENTAL SPACE
All levels of belly dance classes taught by experienced and caring instructors. Bangor and Waterville classes. Visit our website: www.aaminahdance.com or jeason@pivot.net.
Space Available for Gatherings, Ceremonies, Presentations.
“SANT MAT RADHASWAMI SATSANG”
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.
Inner Light & Sound Meditation. Surat Shabd Yoga. For a Bangor, Waterville, & Portland meeting schedule, call James at: (207) 368-5866 or James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com.
Ongoing~NewHampshire
At Earthrest, Cornish, ME. Call (207) 625-4179.
A Place In The Heart
Sunday Service weekly at 10:00AM for all ages Unity of the Seacoast, both church and spiritual community, honors all paths of God. Affiliated with the publishers of Daily World magazine and the Silent Unity prayer line, we are a positive, practical, New Thought Christian movement that values personal transformation and conscious connection with the loving Presence of God. Everyone is welcome to join us for a celebration of life, love and joy! Unity of the Seacoast, 3 Front St., Salmon Falls Lower Mill Building, Rollinsford, NH 03869, (603) 749-0677 or info@Unityoftheseacoast.com.
Tai Chi for Health Thursday, 5:30pm-6:15pm, $15 pay as you go. Zev Yoga, 16 Market Square, Portsmouth, NH. Age 14 and older.
NESHHA Educational Presentation The New England Seacoast Holistic Health Association (an organization of Healthcare Professionals), has meetings monthly, third Thursday, Potluck 6:30pm, Networking 7:00pm at the Herbal Path, 839 Central Ave., Dover, NH. www.NESHHA.org.
Eaton Satsang An informal gathering to discover and welcome the truth of one's inner nature. Eaton, NH is near the Maine/NH border. Most Wednesday evenings. www.eatonsatsang.com or (603) 447-5401.
Ongoing~RhodeIsland Bridge Between Two Worlds Radio Show Mediumship, Physical Phenomena and more. Contact Talk Radio Mondays 8:00pm-9:00pm EST, Listen Live www.bridgebetweentwoworlds.net. Host Pamela Marie Edmunds, (508) 273-0022.
Calendar and Classified Listings Calendar of Events ~ Date Sensitive Listings ~ $12 per issue for 30 words, additional words are 50 cents each.
Please follow the format of our calendar found in the journal and online, (Date information, title, description, location and contact information.)
Calendar of Events ~ Ongoing Event Listings ~ 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.)
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!
www.innertapestry.org
Continued from page 26 ~ Immunity, Part Two When a person chooses to live in this way all of life is viewed as a blessing and a gift and received with gratitude for the opportunity to live. It is at this point the body and all of its systems are able to function in harmonious union to support and accentuate the experience of life in physical form. The body system becomes expressive and reflective of a life lived in harmony, not a system of checks and balances, or a system of defense and protection. What if the immune system is not a system of defense and protection? What if all of this is us protecting ourselves from the one thing that frightens us the most... our own mind and the wounds it carries and protects? What if all that is necessary is to connect to our willingness to embrace the truth about ourselves, life and the way we have been looking at things for so long? What if all that is 44 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2010
necessary to change our lives is to spend time looking in the mirror and stay open, without judgment, and lovingly embrace the truth of what we see and feel? Feel all there is without condition or rejection and let the Love that we are shine from us for all to share. What if it is this simple?
Ron Damico resides in Scarborough, Maine with his partner Joan Emmons. They have created, Ron and Joan, an energy based healing practice that supports and nurtures humanity. As the extension of that practice they also co-publish Inner Tapestry with Betty Close and are founding members of NESHA non-profit with Sherry Russenberger and Deb Robinson. Currently sessions are available in Maine and Connecticut, Ron maybe reached at ron@ronandjoan.com or 207-332-0128..
45 Continued from page 18 ~ Eating... The Angel Way... by government and non-profit health agencies; and in health science books and journal articles. Annie and I will share these sources with you as they relate to your questions and as they illustrate the meaning and practical application of the Ten Angel Way Guidelines in your life.
enhance other practices, such as yoga, meditation, drumming, quiet walks in nature, and sound healing. The Guidelines encourage each individual to see herself as a unique expression of Divine Source, seamlessly connected to that Source and to every other expression of It.
The Angels’ Intentions
These Guidelines are not a “diet,” and you will not lose weight necessarily if you are already at a healthy weight for you. The intention, thus the focus, is on nourishment, not deprivation. The Guidelines are highly flexible; you will find they easily support any responsible nutritional approach, from kosher to vegan.
The teachings of the Angels are rooted in love and an appreciation for our bodies that many of us don’t have for ourselves. One of the first messages Annie received was how saddened the Angels are that most of us don’t appreciate our physical form. The Angels assured her repeatedly that being able to manifest in the appearance of a body is not at all the same thing as the experience of life in a physical body. They would like all of us to appreciate ourselves completely, as the beautiful and unique manifestations of the Divine that we are. The Angels’ Guidelines are intended to bring us back into that place of loving delight for our bodies and our need for nourishment that we had when we were infants. Bombarded as we are by advertising and approved images of what we “ought” to look like, most of us find ourselves at war with a very necessary part of ourselves – our appetites. We’re told that our appetite is something that has to be “controlled” at best, and distrusted, at worst We are encouraged to pursue a culturally approved ideal and made to believe something is wrong with us if we don’t fit that ideal. We have forgotten that our appetite kept us alive when we were at our most helpless, spurring us to signal caregivers that baby needed to be fed. Without a healthy appetite hard-wired into place, infants would die. The Angels only hope is that each of us will remember what most of us have forgotten: that we are unique manifestations of the Divine. The Angels’ intention is to help us heal the wounds inflicted upon us by culture and those we inflict upon ourselves when we choose to conform to cultural ideals. They wish to help us see that in order to heal our world, we must first heal ourselves, including our relationship with our bodies, and the ways we nourish ourselves –BodyMind, heart and soul. The Ten Angel Way Guidelines
Before making any change or modification that may affect your health, or if you already suspect you may be suffering from an underlying medical or emotional condition, the Angels urge you to consult the appropriate medical or therapeutic professional. Coming up in the next column: Your Spectrum of Choices for Nourishing Your Divine Uniqueness (Guidelines 1 and 2)
Annie Kelleher is the published author of 11 novels, a Reiki Master and an intuitive medium whose office is located in Avon, CT. Karen M. Rider holds degrees in Exercise Science and in Health/ Experimental Psychology; she is the author of 100+ articles and several works of short fiction on holistic health and metaphysical subjects. Annie and Karen’s book, Eating…The Angel Way, is under consideration with a major publishing house. For private consultations with Annie, call: 860-693-4149. Send questions to: eatingtheangelway@gmail.com. Blog www.eatingtheangelway.blogspot.com.
Continued from page 28 ~ welcome home water is the equivalent of the emotions of all those around you. When you’re filled with light you’re less vulnerable to soaking up the feelings of those you come into contact with. A simple way of doing so—a prayer or invocation, a request of whatever power you deem appropriate—is to ask, “Please fill me with light. Please surround me with light. Please form a protective bubble of light around me through which only positive can penetrate.” My suggestion is to envision a lovely golden white circle of light spinning warm and beautiful in the center of your body and to see this light expanding until it both fills and surrounds you in a bubble of healing, golden-white energy. One of my clients likened it to the bubble surrounding Glinda the Good Witch in the movie The Wizard of Oz! However you see it, ask for this protection first thing upon awakening, and last thing before you go to sleep at night.
Asrianna Dameron is a Psychic, a Spiritual Medium, a Certified Hypnotherapist, and a Certified Past Life Regressionist in private practice. She offers individual and group sessions as well as seminars and speaking engagements on the topics of Psychic Development, Mediumship, Hypnosis and Shamanic healing. Asrianna can be reached at asrianna@shamansheart.com, by visiting her websites at www.shamansheart.com or www.nhshamanandpsychicmedium.com, or by calling 603-892-1268.
To have your questions answered, please email your letters or comments to Asrianna at Asrianna@shamansheart.com
I hope this helps you on your path. Signed, Asrianna
Continued from page 29 ~ feng shui & geopathology ~ Geopathology Many of us have instinctively asked ourselves questions such as these. We might have read an article or listened to a friend express their concerns. Any “yes” answers should raise red flags and initiate more research, maybe consider simple changes of our living space.
References: Discoveries of a Dowser (Geobiological influences on Human Beings) – Kaethe Bachler
The quality of our environment affects our health and well-being, just as our diet, physical strength and emotional state. Addressing the environmental factor through Geopathology Is an important pillar in the model of holistic health care and successful prevention, and can be a significant part of reducing future health care costs.
Werner Brandmaier Dipl.Ing., a medical engineer and a citizen of Austria, studied with prominent international Feng Shui masters and trained in Germany to practice dowsing and geopathology. Werner offers consultations for homes and businesses and teaches workshops and seminars. He is a member of the International Feng Shui Guild and the American Society of Dowsers. You may contact Werner at (207) 772-7888 or office@InstituteOfFengShui.com.
if in our hearts we continue to grow and expand - can we be in a recession ? Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 45
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The Guidelines are primarily a way to become aware; a path to follow, through which one can listen to the wisdom of one’s own BodyMind. They support and
Eating… the Angel Way ~ The Ten Guidelines© 1. What you eat is up to you. 2. Men are like raindrops, women are like snowflakes. 3. Be gentle with yourself, start slowly and with care. 4. Eat a Rainbow everyday and a “white-light” food at every meal. 5 .Eat “brown” foods with awareness. 6. Every body needs a little sweetness. 7. Every body needs a little cushion. 8. Eat as organically and locally as possible. 9. Eat like a baby - nourish your body every three hours. 10. Plan how you will nourish yourself – keep a journal.
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Book Review
by K ar en M. R ider
The Reincarnationist By: M. J. Rose ISBN: 9780778324201 Publisher: Mira
How would your life be different if you had access to a tool – a process even – that revealed your past lives? What wrongs would you make right? Would you seek vengeance or grant forgiveness to those who hurt you? What price would you pay for this power and how would you use it? M.J. Rose, author of The Reincarnationist, keeps these questions burning in the back of your mind even as you enjoy a most intelligent, riveting and original story:
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Following a terrorist blast in Rome that left him unconscious, Associated Press photographer Josh Ryder is taken back to the life of another man in ancient Rome, 391 AD. The mandate is that anyone who is not Christian, or willing to convert, must be killed. Julius and his brother, Drago, are the few remaining Romans who vow to protect the pagan culture. Julius is in love with a Vestal Virgin, Sabina—their union bears a child, a mortal sin punishable by a fate worse than death for the nun: to be buried alive. Moments before Josh wakes from the unconscious, the two brothers have engaged Roman soldiers; Drago is wounded badly. Julius is torn—if he stays to help his brother then he will lose valuable time in saving Sabina, and the treasure she protects, from her fate. If he wakes up, Josh won’t be able to save either one of them. Or, will he? Months after recovering from his physical injuries, thoughts of Julius and Sabina intrude upon Josh’s conscious mind. Emotionally intense, psychically disturbing, these episodes become full-on visions of another’s life in another time and place. But where are they coming from? These aren’t Josh’s memories, they can’t be—or can they? Disturbed by the activity of his own mind, and unable to find a medical reason for the flashback-like visions, Josh turns to the internationally known Phoenix Foundation—a research center that scientifically investigates past life memories.
His work with the Foundation lands Josh in modern-day Rome at the site of an archeological dig supervised by Yale professor, Gabriella Chase. Josh knows, but does not understand, how he is connected to Chase or this most significant archeological find: the tomb of the last Vestal Virgin. But there’s more within this tomb than Josh’s possible past-life lover. There’s a treasure worth killing for—in any lifetime. Rose writes a compelling narrative, creates deeply human characters and sets it all against three riveting points in time: modern-day, ancient Rome and another time-point that I’ll let you discover. Few authors successfully manage “jumping” from one time-point to another but Rose does it masterfully. She also sweeps the reader from New York to Rome to New Haven without missing a beat. Not once did she leave me in the lurch, wondering which character I was “with,” “where,” or what time “we” were in. The plot is a psychological joy-ride for its originality, suspense, and unforgettable ending. Within the narrative, Rose weaves a variety of scientific, spiritual and philosophical paradigms that attempt to explain past-life memories. She accomplishes this without once intruding upon the reader’s beliefs (or lack of ). Yet, you can’t help but start to wonder, “Did I have a past life?” If you’re looking for a mystery that isn’t a romance in disguise, then you’ll want to read M.J. Rose’s The Reincarnationist... But don’t delay! Fox TV will air a new series based on the book—aptly titled Past Lives—in February 2010. Check your local listings for details or visit: http://www.fox.com/programming/shows/?sh=pastlife http://www.reincarnationist.org/
Karen M. Rider, M.A. is a freelance writer specializing in holistic and metaphysical subjects. Her articles, profiles, book reviews and promotional copy appear in local, regional and national publications including Door Opener, Natural Nutmeg, Angels Among Us, Dream Network Journal and The Writer magazine. Karen also writes fiction centered on the awakening of human-spiritual potential. Her first novel is underway. She is co-writing Eating... The Angel Way with intuitive medium Annie Kelleher due to publish in 2010. Karen lives in Cromwell, CT. Learn more: KarenMRider@comcast.net or call (860) 638-8140. Visit Karen's Blog: The Writing Parent www.thewritingparent.blogspot.com
John Holland and Cheryl Richardson will be appearing at the Freeport, Hilton Garden Inn on April 11th, 2010 Cheryl Richardson's best selling book The Art of Extreme Self-Care has recently launched itself into a new online course over the next twelve months. Bringing Extreme Self-Care into your life takes commitment and support so Cheryl has developed a 12 session course to give people the opportunity to practice her 12 strategies to a more fulfilled life. John Holland has a new book coming out the beginning of this year called the Spirit Whisperer - Chronicles of a Medium. In this new book, John divulges some of the extraordinary paranormal occurrences he’s witnessed throughout his career, and provides a rare glimpse behind the scenes of what it’s like to be a "psychic time machine" for several television shows. This book will also help parents who have a psychic child. (More information on their appearance in Freeport, ME can be found on page 5)
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Book Review by Joan Emmons Himalayan Salt Crystal Lamps ~ For Healing, Harmony and Purification By Clémence Lefèvre ISBN:978-159477309-9 Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont www.HealingArtsPress.com
You know those really cool salt lamps that many of have in our homes? Well, if you have one or have thought about getting one, this book can be just what you are looking for. I have several salt lamps in my home and love the amber glow when lights are out, the gentle way it lights my path in the middle of the night and the uniqueness that each has to offer. But there are things that I didn't know. The first thing I opened to, as I randomly chose a page, was the statement that a salt lamps size should be considered for a room, not by the room size but by how long you planned on spending in the room. Makes sense. Having that information would have been helpful in the purchase and placement of my salt lamps within my home. For those of you who have not seen a crystal salt lamp here is a bit of information on them. The blocks of salt crystal come from the Himalayan mountains and have absorbed mineral elements that give them their wonderful color. They are still extracted by traditional methods that have been used for thousands of years, says author Clémence Lefèvre.
We as a society continue to be in places where there are "harmful" energies or we have become accustomed to rejecting positive ions without even being aware of it. Salt has been in our lives for centuries and we have found so many uses for it. Clémence gives the reader some background information about rock salt in our lives. The next chapter goes on to explain what negative ions are and how they effect us and how salt lamps diffuse these negative ions. She speaks to us about many things that we may or may not already know, simply and effectively.
We in the "western world" widely chose to be unconscious of the effect of energy in our lives for centuries, Clémence discusses the work of individuals in the first half of the century that made a great impact on bringing this to light (no pun intended). She traverses the types of salt lamps, and the benefits of their presence in each room. Covering the benefits of using salt lamps to support a meditation practice, she also gifts the reader some text that is suggested to be pre-recorded so that it may guide your through the process. There is a small writing on subjects covering things from chakras and clairvoyance to planetary consciousness and Reiki. The final summary is that natural salt crystal in our lives has a curative power and can be used to enhance our health well-being and accelerate the self-healing process. Natural salt lamps, as with anything in life, are as diverse as we all are and they will have a different affect on each one of us. They should not be confused as a substitute for appropriate medical treatment or medication. Clémence has no doubt that we have not yet discovered their full potential, which makes sense since we are still working on reaching ours. She is excited to have the reader discover for themselves the many qualities that salt lamps offer. This is a simple and easy-to-read-and-use book, a great place to start with basic information well-shared to lead you on your journey of discovering the benefits of being in relationship to the wonderful Himalayan Salt Crystal Lamps.
Book Review
b y J o a n Emmon s
A Question for Jesus By: Tonika Rinar ISBN:978-1-84694-234-1 O Books www.o-books.net Tonika Rinar's book A Question for Jesus follows in the footsteps of great books, the Conversations with God series by Neale Donald Walsh and Glenda Greene's Yeshua series. Though in different forms, all these people have experienced in some way a connection with the divine. Tonika's connection is through her ability to channel, which for her is stepping out of the way and letting another energy enter through her to express here on the physical plane. Tonika has been extensively interviewed on radio and television and is an internationally known lecturer and expert on bio-magnetism. Her book gives the simple background to her journey in the actualization that she would ultimately be channeling over 600 spirits to allow the messages to come across. There were groups of people gathered together to listen to the words of Jesus, this time in Tonika's home. Can you imagine being someone who was in attendance? If you were to ask Jesus one questions about his life, what would that be? We continue, through the work of such authors, to gain insight into the life of Jesus.
To open to the reality that as we know the past to be, it was and is so much more. Jesus addresses his birth through his second coming. There are poignant quotations like "You have all the answers, You have read many books, and yet how many beings have read themselves?" Just a little room for exploration there... So after sitting with that quotation up comes another... "One cannot be taught, one can only expand, as one lets go of all their restricting thought forms. Each individual is their greatest teacher. And yet we look to others to guide us." I have found as I clear my restricting thoughts to expand, the feelings are there that I know all these ideas and concepts. We are all getting the same messages—a comforting feeling. As the book states the second coming of Jesus will be our awakening to our inner knowledge. Are we not in the process of that arrival? You may not read anything "new," but you may remember what you already know. Through the wisdom shared, once again, there is a refocus; a feeling of our own connectedness with the energy of creation. Thank you, Tonika, for sharing once again the message of hope, light and peace. Feb/Mar 2010 Inner Tapestry 47
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These lamps have been used to support people in diminishing stress, migraines, feelings of tiredness, insomnia, excessive nervousness and lack of concentration. Salt lamps have been also know to support your home becoming a source of energy, vitality and a place that regenerates you.
She compares the ocean and waterfalls in their ability to defuse negative ions to the ability that Himalayan salt lamps have. She also explains how chromotherapy, (color therapy) works into the equation, going through the chakra system and the effect of color on our being.
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