Inner Tapestry "Changing Your Mind" February March 2011

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A Holistic Journal Celebrating & Supporting LIFE! Feb/Mar 2011

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Volume 9, No. 5

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Tapestry Our Belief Matters

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Change ~ Part One

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Mind of the Medium

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Happiness Through Chanting

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A Breath of Healing ~ Mastering Your Mind

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The Way of Life It-self The Phenomenon of Life

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Wandering Sage Wisdom Mind Like Water

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Modern Shamanic Living Changing Your Mind

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Exploring The World Religions Thomas ~ A Gnostic Gospel

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Awareness and the Art of Seeing Reality Happens

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Inner TAPESTRY Contents

This Issue's Theme

Changing Your Mind

UP COMING THEMES Apr i l/M ay 2011

Em ergence

Feb/Mar 2011

Features

J une/J uly 2011

Su p er Co nsc i o usness August/S eptember 2011

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Are We There Yet ?

Our Beliefs Matters

Page

6

O c tober/November 2011

Mind Of The Medium

Page 14

Inviting The Aid Of Our Knowing Minds

by Tara Wrobel

by John Lehmus, D.C.Ed., ASAI,TM C.O.R.E. Counselor

by Karen M. Rider, M.A.

Change ~ Part One

Page 18

by Maria Harrison

The Emotional Vampire Survival Guide...

Page 19

by Dr. Judith Orloff

Change Your Mind, Change Your Life!

Page 22

by Sandra Diamond

Divine Change

Page 24

by Kat Logan

Page 27

by Ashok Nalamalapu

Pet Poison Control ~ How To Practice Safety In Your Home

Page 29

by Donald and Sara Hassler

Shungendo Yoga ~ Multi-disciplinary Approach to Healing

by Max Houlton

Page 32

Departments

Modern Shamanic Living ~ Changing Your Mind

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by Evelyn C. Rysdyk

Loving Earth ~ Changing Our Minds ~ A Matter Of Wolves

Page 16

by Pat Foley

Awareness and the Art of Seeing ~ Reality Happens

by Teresa Piccari

Oneness Blessing

Welcome Home ~ Ask Asrianna

Page 21 Page 23 Page 26 Page 28

by Asrianna Dameron

Exploring the World Religions ~ Thomas ~ A Gnostic Gospel

by James Bean From A Parallel Universe or Past Life Mixed Media ~ Book, Website & Music Reviews

Directories

Directory of Resources Yoga, T'ai Chi, & Meditation Directory Heart Visions, Calendar of Events, Classifieds

Inner

Tapestry Joan Emmons Ron Damico Betty Close

by Donna Amrita Davidge

21st Century Bohemian ~ Changing Our Minds Through

Articles – February 15th Display Ads & Directory of Resources To Reserve Space – March 1st For Ad Copy & Graphics – March 5th Calendar & Classified Ads –March 5th

Page 20

by Aaron Hoopes

A Breath of Healing ~ Mastering Your Mind ~ How To Change?

Submission Dates April/May 2011

Publishers

by Skye Hirst, Ph.D.

Wandering Sage Wisdom ~ Mind Like Water

Let t i ng G o o f I t All

Page 17

by Jen Deraspe

The Way of Life-Itself ~ The Phenomenom Of Life

D ece mber 2011/J anuar y 2012

Page 30 Pages 45-47

Pages 33-40 Page 41 Pages 42-44

Advertising & Distribution (207) 799-7995 (203) 779-0345

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(207) 799-7995 ~ (203) 779-0345 Email: info@innertapestry.org Or Visit: www.innertapestry.org Subscriptions ~ $20.00/year, 6 issues Inner Tapestry can be found in over 500 locations, but to ensure you don’t miss an issue, subscriptions are available.

Payments and Correspondence To: P O Box 122, East Hampton, CT 06424 Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 3

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Happiness Through Chanting

M ovi n g At The Sp eed o f Grace

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INNER WORKINGS New this issue:

As we have taken the step into 2011, closer and closer to the beloved year 2012, more and more people are becoming increasingly aware that we are accessing more in the same period of time. This phenomenon has many believing that time is speeding up and moving us at light speed. Hmm....

fairs, new classes, trips all over the world, who would have thought years ago we would be looking to do Yoga on a boat, or meditation in the jungle?

Light Speed... Light Beings... Lightness... Lighter... I think we have something here. If we are moving, and we are, is it to a lighter place? Hang out with it. As so much continues to enter into our awareness does this generate feelings of heaviness, of lightness, of fullness of joy, of peace?

Within our lives there is a new unfolding taking place and a story to share.

A short while ago we were blessed to connect with Tunji Somma, the owner of the Chatham Medical Building, in our town of East Hampton. At the time of our meeting he was three and a half years into the process of actualizing his vision of a holistically minded medical arts center. His plans included the addition of a new building and the total renovation of the existing building to accommodate new tenants. This vision also included the structures being built and renovated following the certified "green" building standards. After our first meeting and the sharing of our vision we realized the synchronicity of the moment.

For most of us, as we process through the feelings of events and past transgressions we are left with a lightness, an expanded feeling that we are now more than we were just moments before. This my friends is "Change." The active part of growth, I hear so many people saying they "want" change, but alas are they ready and willing to change.

The place to start is with our minds. It seems to be the scariest place for most of us to begin, thoughts of; "will I be able to change? I don't "know" anything else! I couldn't possibly, could I?" This issue's submissions address all of these questions and more, our hope is that you'll find the comfort to affect the changes you desire and choose in your life so they can transcend in peace, love and joy.

We would like to welcome Victoria Christian, as our featured cover artist.

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Her work Toward the Light shows us how focused quiet time maybe our key to listen for the messages coming into our awareness. To give us the time to actively integrate them into our being and as Ghandi stated "To be the change you want to see in the World." There is a special On The Cover section (page 12) with an article that Victoria has submitted, "Feminine Mysticism in Art: Artists Envisioning the Devine," where she not only shares herself but the work of other very talented artists. Thank you Victoria.

As spring approaches, keep at heart the many offerings that you'll find. Spring Wellness Fairs, the Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce Wellness Fair on April 9th this year (see the back cover for details) always a very cool experience. Psychic

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Keep checking in to see what is new and exciting. I promise, as humans, we will continue to come up with the very best that our lives have to offer.

With his encouragement and support of our community we are experiencing the opportunity to open a center as part of the Chatham Medical Office Park. The Center named "A Simple Truth" will be opening late this year or early in 2012.

The love for the journal that you have all shared with us has enabled us to make this commitment to the community, to continue the journal in a more expansive way, reaching so many more people, it is light, joy filled and exciting to see this all unfold and to connect with the many community members who are stepping into their own expressions of self to bring our world to a new level of lightness. We will keep the updates coming. We are blessed to serve so many.

We look forward not only to offer people the forum for expression through the journal, but also the physical location for that expression in classes, offerings and access to practitioners from everywhere.

Be well these next few months and remember that traveling at the speed of light takes awareness and the ability to stay connected.

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Inviting the Aid of Our Knowing Minds

By Tara Wrobel

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The difficulty in implementing this most useful kind of knowing is that we habitually lean heavily on what we’ve already learned (either by experience or education), or on what others have confirmed or declared, to be called fact. Despite our vast resources within, we tend to identify more as physical beings, and so our physical senses are given top authority in the role of collecting information. If input that comes to us from interior avenues is paid any mind at all, it is regarded dubiously until proven true. By contrast, external sources of information are generally seen as real until proven false. The great irony is that so much of what happens in the outside world is the work of everyone’s fears, desires, and egorelated needs that little of what we observe before us is of an authentic, truthful nature. Yet, this is our accepted measure of what’s considered real and reliable.

Our point of inner knowing is real but can present information that is so contrary to appearances that it is hard to accept as being true. But we are capable of depending on it without fear of it being wrong if we are willing to risk Your World trusting ourselves deeply. When the physically unproven IS knowing is no longer denied, it brings forth its calm into Your Canvas our everyday action. Our patient, relaxed energy allows what is real to be revealed in the physical in its own time.

Yours To When we really key in, we know all we need to know right CREATE! then and there. What that is, is fluid and fluctuating, but always correct in the present moment and never deceptive or unclear. All the information that is really necessary and pertinent comes to us, and within it are instructions of what to do next. It is a baggage-free place in the mind, where all that we can carry is what is absolutely relevant right now.

We can go to this mental place in any moment and know everything we need to, but we cannot store there what we learn. We get it and go.

We can throw it into our thinking minds or memories, but here in this spot we cannot draw on our past collections of thought nor can we pile up the information that’s coming to us or we’ll be thrown off balance and out of the zone. We tune in and know, then go on with what we’re doing—better informed, serene, and sure.

If this realm of the mind is rarely consciously consulted, a familiarity must be cultivated. Only in that faith of personal understanding can it be realistically used. It has to be sought. It has to be met. It has to be felt. It has to be listened to. With practice, it will then be trusted without hesitation. In time, even amidst the physical commotion of developing events, it is always accessible. At our best, there is harmony between all the facets of our working minds—a cooperation and balance of strengths and talents that enable us to navigate any and every challenge with confidence, calm, and, yes, even joy. It becomes a pleasure to take on any experience when we are secure in our ability to handle it well. Allowing our thinking and knowing minds to fully operate in tandem is to ensure ourselves that steadiness, comfort, and poise. © 2010 Tara Wrobel

Tara Wrobel is an artist and writer from West Newbury, MA with offerings of her work at www.TaraWrobel.com.

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 5

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ur thinking minds are gloriously boundless in their ability to conjure up notions and engineer them into fortresses of belief. There is virtually nothing beyond our capacity to conceive of or be converted to agreeing with. While we generally may not range very far from our “home” beliefs, the potential is nonetheless there—our vision of our world (and selves therein) is, fundamentally, a wide-open landscape onto which any scene can be painted. But this great mental fertility comes at a price if caution is not employed. We run the risk of emotional chaos if we let the creativity go unchecked by the cool, calm reserve of pure knowledge that lies within us beneath the activity of the thinking, constructing mind.

The never-ending ability of the mind to imagine and invent is a great and powerful tool. We can use it to make ourselves believe new ideas about who we are and what we’re capable of, to see our situation and prospects in a new light, or to change how we feel within a recurring experience. The catch is, we can use it to feel better or worse about these things, and it’s common for us to fluctuate between the positive and negative sides of them. Our minds are constantly being fed data, and they work tirelessly to calculate it. It is a nonstop action of response, and all of it is rooted in a past of what we’ve experienced or been told to expect. We read, we watch, we guess, we remember—we take all the sources of input and do our best to make sense of what is going on around us.

This entire math drives the weather in our emotional world, which, in turn, feeds more subjective information back into the computer of our thinking minds. In this complicated and often frenetic mass of multiple-source input and emotional energy, the truth of any matter can easily be lost, covered up by opinions, beliefs, or assumptions, and left behind while we travel off on concocted tangents. In this way, even ordinary everyday happenings can become dramatic storms within which we struggle and lose our inherent means of settling the atmosphere to appropriately deal with things in a strong and even manner.

We can only continue our frantic dance until a new tune distracts us, with new winds of its own, our thinking minds operating like a radio station that never goes off the air.

Our time here on earth is more than just an extended exercise in demonstrating the skill of our thoughts to manipulate and impress us with their inventions or logic. To stop the exhausting ping-pong match of our conflicting thoughts (which make us feel and do conflicting things), we need to reach further into the depths and heights of our minds. There we are capable of far more than just reactive and learned thinking. Within us exists a carefree presence of mind where it is unnecessary to tabulate anything. We have an aspect of ourselves, mixed into our mental essence that is never afraid, never elated, always calm, and always sure. No matter what is unfolding in our lives, within this space of knowing there is relaxed, unconcerned certainty and peace. Within this layer of our minds, problems cannot exist, period. Therefore, it is an invaluable resource to tap into to temper any thought-based bustle.

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Our Belief Matters

by John Lehmus, D.C. Ed. TM ASAT C.O.R.E. Counselor

"Our beliefs and attitudes manifest the choices that we believe are possible. We then make our decisions based upon these choices. When we change a belief, we are consciously choosing to step onto the field of possibility and, one belief at a time, recreate who we are becoming, from the inside out."

The Experience of “Now”

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In this article, I wish to offer alternative ideas, views and techniques about the experience of “now.” I also will explain my sensing and interpretation of how, when and why we experience “time” the way we do and what is real and what is not so real.

Here’s what got me thinking about this title and ensuing article. I remember attending a workshop where we discussed the quantum fact that all “time” is not as we were taught in school. First of all, I do agree that clock time and calendars are important for schedules, historical perspective and referencing personal growth and life experiences, but that’s about it. Time is really a human construct. Think about the invention of time zones and daylight savings time.

How about looking at sand falling inside an hour glass? Does the sand in the upper portion of the glass somehow represent the not yet fallen future and the sand collecting in the lower portion of the glass represent the already fallen past? Maybe the sand falling grain by grain represents the now? Even “time zones,” those imaginary lines on the world map that we only think about when we book airline tickets or when we get ready to call or text a family member out West, were invented because of train schedules.

This is the experience of “time” on the outside. Or, to say it another way, “time” in the world around us.

effort. Unfortunately at this point, most people simply give up and move on to something else. Essentially, their mind talks them out of believing it.

When we get stuck projecting future events, much like projecting a movie onto a screen that's 100 feet away, notice that we are distancing ourselves from the now. We are mentally projecting a possible future! We are no longer present. Our mind's ego has distracted us from the “now.” This separation, from the “now,” is where anxiety resides, and for many of us, anxiety can and will take up residence here.

It's the same experience when we get stuck re-living past events. We are also distancing ourselves from the now. We are no longer present because our ego has once again distracted us from the “now.” This separation, from the “now,” is where anxiety resides because we are not grounded in our-self. We have temporarily forgotten who we are.

Remember this, it's not important that what we feel matches the feelings of others.

It is important that we discover our own truth and respect that there are individual differences. The reference of “now” relates to the experience of this very moment. The “now” is always here, always present and always available.

An alternative way to talk about the experience of “now” is probably to say what it’s not. The “now” is an experience of not reliving any past events while, at the same time, not projecting any future events. It’s the sense of stillness. The stillness of being present.

And being present, is accepting “what is” – much like how a flower, or a tree, or even a bird instinctively accepts the now. For humans, it's the experience of no thought.

Initially, these snippets of no thought are interrupted by our mind taking over, by providing something to think about. Or, we give away our attention over to an event on the outside, like a train whistle or more likely, the prompting tone from an incoming text message. Or we end up giving away some of our attention to an event inside our physical body, like an ache or pain.

The experience of these snippets of no thought can even be disturbing at first because there is no mind chatter to distract us. We may even find ourselves manufacturing a thought just to bring us back to the mind chatter, because that's what we are used to. Our being aware of the realization of no thought, allows the experience to linger, further helping us remember the feeling. The feeling of quiet mind and the body sense of sincere stillness.

Holistically speaking, we come to know that "now" is

the culmination

How About Time on the “Inside?”

So, if that’s time on the outside, what about on the inside? If “time” is supposed to be so solid, then why do we experience “time” differently throughout our day? Here are two examples:

of all past,

present and future events.

1) when we are running late for work or an appointment, why does it feel like time is somehow moving faster, but our body is somehow moving slower? It's our mind creating the thoughts that are making us feel nervous. Our nervousness has our mind projecting a future of “not enough time” which is then translated into a sense that there will be more traffic, maybe we will walk in late to an important meeting or not be able to stop for that tasty snack with our usual coffee or tea.

Whether it be in our own car or the local bus, as we start traveling, traffic seems to move slower, there are more stops, less green traffic lights and the red ones seem to last longer.

2) when we are enjoying an event, from building sand castles to gardening, creating something brand new in our favorite hobby or enjoying a picnic with our best friend or lover, we don’t even think about time. In fact, we are usually surprised at how much clock time has passed.

Here’s the truth: in the first example, we are giving “time” all of our attention, and in the second example, we not giving “time” any of our attention.

Challenge as Opportunity Holistically speaking, we come to know that “now” is a culmination of all past, present and future events. Past, present and future are simultaneous. The real challenge here is to explain what someone might feel or sense surrounding this message. In truth, everyone will have their own personal feeling and sensing around this. I know that I do.

And for those people who try to feel the “now” from this or any article they read or even from an audio training they hear, will soon discover it’s a fruitless and wasted 6 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

Feeling the Now When you think about the experience of “now” or the word itself or its definition, what might you say or speak? At the more visceral level, what do you sense or what might you be feeling inside your body? What you intuit or experience within, will probably be very subtle at first, but rest assured, what you feel will also be the most real.

Generally, we assume that for a feeling to be real, it must be strong. That’s not really the case. Think about tasting food. Does food need to be either very bland or very spicy? Know that there are dozens of flavors and textures in most every food, including how the food was prepared. If you have watched the movie “Sideways” do you remember how the wine connoisseur character, played by Paul Giamatti, shared his very personal experience of a particular Merlot – he spoke in colors, flavors and feelings – all inside sensing.

Subtle Sensing So how can this subtle sense of “now” relate to your own personal perceptions?

When the words “subtle sense” are used here, know that it’s much like our personal feeling of the word ambiance, akin to visiting someone’s home for the first time or

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when you visit a new part of the world while on vacation. The ambiance you are feeling is very subtle, but also very real.

Another example of a subtle feeling or sensing is the word character. When we meet someone for the first time, we may get a sense or a feeling surrounding his/ her disposition or manners. It could be very positive or maybe negative or even somewhere in-between. Whether it’s good, bad or you are just not sure, what you are sensing is very subtle, but also very real. Your experience of the “now” will be this subtle and this real, as well.

Now, is Always with Us I checked this little three letter word “now” on the web site Wictionary and not to my surprise I found the following definition: an adverb that indicates this very moment in time. It’s obvious why so many of us are challenged trying to sense an experience regarding “now,” as there is that four-letter-word again, time!

When most of us think about the word “now” or the experience of “now,” we may find ourselves looking at our watch or a clock somewhere and we may say something like “oh my gosh, I’m late” or find ourself wondering if “it’s five o’clock somewhere.” A more accurate way of defining the word “now” could have been, indicates this very moment, and again, and again, forever more. Period.

I’m both very challenged and especially intrigued with the experience of “now.” It’s an inside experience that’s very difficult to explain to others, but I am going to try. I wish to offer a few avenues of thought from my perspective and I will offer some examples and even a few techniques to try on your own.

Time, as an Invention

The experiences of these gaps of no thought are snippets of the now! Realizing there are moments where there is no need to be thinking about some past event or any real need to be projecting some future event. Sensing these gaps is very important, because it’s the feeling that you will want to remember. The more you can bring back the feeling of the now, the more you will reside in the now.

The meditation examples can help teach you to live in the only moment that is real, the right now. When we live in the present moment, our energy is not wasted by residing in the past and we are not spending our energy by residing in a future, that has not yet arrived. This can be likened to an imaginary clock, forever ticking “now,” “now,” “now,” “now”...

In Closing Each action we take is an expression of our beliefs, whether consciously or not. Our actions are the reflection of self-image and our self-image is what we imagine our self to be. And what you’re becoming is creating who you are, in each and every “now.”

The now is always here – it always has been here and it always will be here. How beautiful is that?

I honor that place within you where the entire universe resides – that place of Love, of light, of truth, and peace. When you are in that place inside of you and I am in that place inside of me, we all become One. John Lehmus, D.C. Ed. is certified as a Holistic Health Counselor. His doctorate is in ASAT™ C.O.R.E. He has extensive experience as a counsel/teacher in many modalities including meditation, Toltec Wisdom, the energy of healing, etc. He has offered many workshops and adult education classes. His background includes healthcare as a registered respiratory therapist and computer technology as a systems analyst, database and web design services and volunteer offerings including on-site work at Navajo and Apache reservations, Maine Island Trail Association, Marine Animal Lifeline, Church Bell maintenance and repair, Violence No More, Ferry Beach Ecology School, among others. John enjoys writing, kayak camping, hosting wisdom groups, nature walks, photography and crafting runes, arrowheads, & pendulums. His web site, www.Beliefmatters.info is under construction.

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Time, as we usually refer to it, only works at ground level here on planet Earth. And even this statement is not 100% accurate because the rotation of Earth is actually slowing down. This is why highly accurate atomic clocks need to be adjusted every once and a while – something named “leap second.” During space travel and even jet aviation, especially at high velocities, time actually slows down and has to be adjusted for.

How about the Earth’s moon? If we lived on the moon, that doesn’t rotate, we would either be in lightness or darkness. We could literally walk from day to night and back to day again. It wouldn’t just happen all by itself as it does here on our rotating planet.

How about some of the other planets? The length of what we call “day” here on Earth, is less than ten hours long on Jupiter. If we tried to live our current life-style on Jupiter, most of us wouldn’t even have time to come home from work, before we would have to turn around and go back, let alone relax a little or get any sleep. How about Venus?

Its length of day is equivalent to two-hundred and forty-three Earth days. Yikes! Think how “young” you would be on Venus! For me, approaching sixty-two “Earth years” old, on Venus I would be just over three months old!

If you are interested in some additional very revealing facts surrounding the inventions we have named “calendar” or “time,” just go to Wikipedia.com and do some searching. Your relationship with “clock time” will change forever. Time will become a tool that you can use, but are not used by it.

Summary

Our Pace of Aging Relates to Our Experience Our personal experience of time also relates to our bodies’ sense of the aging process.

When “time” seems to s-l-o-w w-a-y d-o-w-n, our physical aging actually speeds up. On the more healthful side, when our experience of time seems to “fly,” or the sense of “no time” our aging process actually slows down.

The Techniques to Keep Asking Yourself What is the experience of Now? Is this the same “now” as when I awoke from my sleep? The answer is yes. Is this the same “now” as when I finished high school? The answer is yes. Is this the same “now” as when I (fill-in the blank)...? The answer here will also and always be yes!

Past and Future Are Only Constructs. Nothing ever happened in the past! When did it really happen? Answer: in the now. Nothing will ever happen in the future! When will it really happen? Answer: in the now.

The Techniques to Keep Practicing Subtle Meditation #1 – Follow the breath for several slow cycles; now ask yourself, who’s breathing? Sense your hand; now ask yourself, who’s hand and where is it? Return to your breathing... see if you sense a gap of no thought... initially very subtle... but the gap is there for you. Where are there gaps in your experience? How do you know? Who is or what is experiencing these gaps? Most importantly, what are these gaps?

Subtle Meditation #2 – Try to not have a thought – mentally erase a black board that is full of your thoughts. Now look at the erased blackboard and see if you sense a gap; do you experience any gaps here? Who is or what is experiencing these gaps? Most importantly, what are these gaps?

Subtle Meditation #3 – Make yourself have continuous thoughts – this time, imagine the black board filling up automatically with information. Look at the blackboard, but don’t erase it. Have you run out of thoughts yet? If not, keep thinking and see if you finally sense a gap. Are you getting tired of “making yourself think?” Who is or what is experiencing these gaps? Most importantly, what are these gaps?

The Thirteenth Moon

Susan Bakaley Marshall ATR-BC, LCPC board-certified art therapist, licensed clinical counselor, Shamanic practitioner

ART from the heART

Art Therapy & Shamanism Studio ~ a light-filled circular sacred space surrounded by fields and trees ~

• Shamanic journeys and healings • Soul retrieval • Individuals • Groups • Classes

(207) 589-3063 moonarts@gmail.com

www.thirteenthmooncenter.net

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 7

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mod er n s ham an i c l i v i n g

Changing Your Mind

by Evelyn C. Rysdyk

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he book Gifts of Unknown Things outlines the remarkable experiences the Comings agrees that human consciousness is an intrinsic feature of the field biologist, Lyall Watson had on an island in Indonesia. First published in of reality and furthermore that it is a central feature of both physics and biology.

1976, the book describes Watson’s encounter with a shaman woman who, by Consciousness is not just our thoughts, but also a combination of our thought/ performing a ritual dance, was able to make an entire grove of trees instantly vanish feelings. In addition, certain feelings provide us a direct way to align ourselves with into thin air. While he and another astonished onlooker continued to watch the what Comings refers to as the multidimensional “sea of radiance” which unites All. woman, she caused the trees to reappear, then disappear again several more times.

The shifts in our vibration caused by the shifts in our feeling states are capable of This credible eyewitness account is not only very powerful; it suggests that we need to creating profound and measurable changes that has been proven hundreds of times in begin looking at our ideas of “reality.”

Medicine for the Earth ceremonies across the world.

What we currently understand as reality is largely a product of perceptions we In those ceremonies a small group of people heal polluted water. It isn’t done have developed based upon the input we have received from our sensory organs. by praying about it, or through intention to heal the water, but rather those of us We have defined what we see, hear and touch as what is “real.” However, what we that perform these ceremonies, change ourselves with the understanding that our “see” with our eyes is only a tiny portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we outer world will reflect back to us the inner changes that we make. This way of call visible light. This is the familiar rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and perception goes back to the ancient and esoteric principle of “as above, so below; violet rays that together create “white” light. Raptors, like hawks and eagles, and as within, so without.” some other animals see below red into the infrared part of the spectrum and so can Science is providing a clear understanding of how this works. A growing number of “see” the heat trails left behind by their prey. Many fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, scientists from diverse disciplines believe that the most profound implication of the and some mammals like rats and mice can see the higher frequency of ultraviolet holographic paradigm is that there are no limits to the extent to which we can alter light. Our hearing is equally limited as it only picks up a small range of audible the fabric of reality. In other words, not only is the Indonesian shaman’s feat witnessed sound. Elephants and whales can hear below that range just

by Watson plausible, it implies that even more amazing as dogs, bats and other creatures can hear far above it. accomplishments are possible!

So the flaw in this strategy of defining the world through This radical idea about the nature of our reality is called the our senses is that our ability to taste, touch, see and hear are holographic paradigm. Mounting evidence suggests that our extremely limited in their scope. An additional limitation at world and everything in it are merely projections from a level of play is the fact that all we CAN perceive with our senses may reality so beyond our own, it is literally beyond both space and not be “real” at all. It isn’t to say that the sensual experience time—the realm of our consciousness/spirit. What this means is isn’t a powerful one. I’d be very hard pressed to say that that in order to experience a different kind of reality, we need tasting a fresh strawberry, smelling the ocean or listening to “change our mind/consciousness.” Doing this will allow us to a Bach fugue isn’t anything less than transcendently to reprogram what we have created as the material world— pleasurable, nor that hitting my finger with a hammer is what an Amazonian shaman once referred to as “dreaming a anything less than shockingly painful. However, it is equally new dream” for your world. important to begin placing all of our sensory experiences into a The first order of business is to change your fundamental new contextual framework. perceptions of reality by opening the mind to the possibilities Mark Comings is a physicist who has been working in the that other realities exist. One method for this is the shamanic area of fundamental physics for over 20 years. His focus has journey state. If you are a journeyer, begin to ask your trusted been on the physics of space, time, light and energy. He has power animal or teacher to give you mind/heart expanding been actively involved in re-visioning these basic concepts experiences in your journeys. Extreme and altered states can The first order of business in fundamental ways that resolve deep contradictions at the provide a kind of spaciousness to our consciousness that allows basis of our scientific conceptions of nature. He has been is to change your fundamental us to “dream bigger.” Indeed, when teaching my students particularly interested in the nature of energy and has been about the shamanic state of consciousness, I do not talk about perceptions involved in exploring and expanding our understanding of altering consciousness; rather I suggest that the shamanic state of reality by opening energy at a theoretical level,.as well as investigating ways to of consciousness is an expanded state of awareness/perception, the mind to the possibilities reduce these new conceptual approaches to practice in a wide which produces an altered experience of “reality.” range of new technological applications particularly focused in that other realities exist.

It has been said that no change is possible without being able the area of high efficiency clean energy generating technology. to imagine it first. Caroline Casey an American astrologer says: At the 2005 True North annual medical conference, Mr. Comings shared some of "Imagination lays the tracks for the reality train to drive down." In other words, if this exciting information that is being taught in The New Physics. Fundamental to we desire to create a new reality for ourselves—as well as our entire species and the this new view of All That Is, is understanding that matter—the stuff of our physical planet as a whole—we need to be able to have conscious experiences of those new reality—isn’t solid at all! Everything is vibration. Quantum physics “M Theory” asserts realities before they can be “made physical!” that everything is composed of an infinite number of vibrating membranes—each of Shamans have understood for millennia that creation is not a singular act, but rather which contains a parallel universe to our own reality. Every tiny spec of matter—our a process that is continuous. Surrendering to the illusions that your senses provide bodies, the elements and everything that exists in our physical world is first and and producing unconscious, unfocused and unintentional thoughts/feelings create foremost vibration. needless suffering, discord, and dis-ease in your life. On the other hand, when you In the book, The Universe as a Hologram the author, Michael Talbot argues that we have a conscious, unshakable understanding of how reality works—through having had agree on what is “real” or “not real” because we have believed our senses and have experiences in the shamanic state of consciousness—and have a way of mastering the created a consensus reality that has been formulated and ratified at the level of the “inner technology” of your feelings, you can begin to generate a life of more harmony, collective human unconscious at which all minds are infinitely interconnected. peace and healing. As I have stated many times before, gratitude/love/compassion/ Furthermore, Keith Floyd, a psychologist at Virginia Intermont College, has pointed appreciation feelings produce the vibration that is most effective for creation and out that if the concreteness of reality is but a holographic illusion, it would no longer the one with which powerful shamans strive to align themselves. You can think about be true to say the brain produces consciousness. Rather, it is consciousness that it as the “original vibration.” By that I mean that it is the energetic framework that creates the appearance of the brain – as well as the body and everything else around us continues to create and evolve the natural world. At every moment, whether we realize we interpret as physical. it or not, we are affecting the health and well-being of All That Is. 8 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

9 The dissonant energies of unconscious humans are powerful, as they create disturbances or disruptions in the fabric of creation. They have the effect of interfering with the natural flow of life giving forces. When a human being chooses to become conscious and stops interfering with the flow of creation, a field of harmonious energy radiates from them. This produces an environment that is more conductive to healing, balance and creating a desired experience. As you understand that the world you feel and think is actually the “real” world, then your entire playing field begins to shift.

This requires a great deal of discipline as your senses will continue to weave the illusion of reality in your mind even as you are in the process of weaving a different one!

I find it is necessary to continually refresh my mind/heart with the true nature of reality through journeys and meditation, so that I can continue making it more securely fixed in my being. If, in this process, I stumble across old beliefs or perceptions that challenge my desired new experience, I work through them with the help of my spirit teachers and with human support when necessary, too. While it sounds difficult, knowing that I am actually creating my experiences fuels my desire to keep going forward with whatever is necessary to completely “change my mind” and so transform my world.

A complete consciousness evolution does require a dedicated tenacity. However, the circle of actions that make it possible are actually quite simple. Expand your perceived possibilities, be in sync with the original vibration and keep feeling the new dream.

Do it as often as you can every day. Go to sleep with these steps and bring them into consciousness before opening your eyes in the morning. Stick with it. Together, we can transform our consensual reality into something miraculously splendid! © 2011 Evelyn C. Rysdyk Nationally recognized shaman teacher/healer, speaker, and author of Modern Shamanic Living: New Explorations of an Ancient Path, Evelyn C. Rysdyk delights in supporting people to remember their sacred place in All That Is. Whether through face-to-face contact with individual patients, workshop groups and conference participants, or through the printed word—Evelyn uses her loving humor and passion to open people’s hearts and inspire them to live more joyful, fulfilling and purposeful lives. In joint practice with Allie Knowlton as Spirit Passages, her web site is www.spiritpassages.com.

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Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 9

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The Women’s Addiction Services Council (WASC) wants to know what is needed by women who are struggling to recover from alcohol and drug related problems and

10

Holistic Moms &

&

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I am looking for like-hearted moms who would like to get together for a weekly play group for pre-school age children in the Columbia, CT or surrounding areas. My intention is to create, with your participation, a supporting, loving, safe and healthy environment for our children to play, socialize and interact with new friends as well as their parents. We can determine the details regarding time, place and frequency once we establish the group participants. If this plan feels right to you and you would like to participate, please call me, Nela, at 860-228-3692.

Harmonic Sound Immersion With Arc

Sounds

Wear comfortable clothing. Bring plenty of water, eye covering, a pillow, blanket and something soft to lie on.

Please no scents ~ perfume or cologne.

Join us Fridays at 7:00 PM $20 Feb. 11th, Mar. 11th, April 1st & May 13th at the Goff House, 2 Barton Hill Rd., East Hampton, CT

for an evening of sound healing with alchemy crystal bowls, gongs and vibrational instruments including Tibetan Cymbals.

Reservations & Information 203-779-0345 Photo courtesy of www.guy-sports.com/humor/jokes/latest.htm 10 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

11 Channeled Messages for the Soul with

Roland Comtois Roland Comtois, a Rhode Island native is widely known locally and abroad as a Spiritual and Intuitive Consultant, who channels the world beyond.

Every message is channeled from the Divine Energy in honor of your spirit and your life.

Saturday ~ May 7th 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Location To Be Announced Tickets are : $70.00 For more information and to reserve your seat: Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

203-779-0345

For Information on Advertising Distribution or Article Submissions Visit: www.innertapestry.org or call 203-779-0345

No Place Like... OM ~ with Ron and Joan www . ronandjoan . com

Wednesday $20 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Reservations & Information

The Goff House 2 Barton Hill Rd. East Hampton, CT

Space is limited so call first and come as often as you choose!

860-655-5500

Discussion and Vibrational Sound Meditation Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 11

12

ON THE COVER Feminine Mysticism in Art: Artists Envisioning the Divine

By Victoria Christian The rise in the United States in recent years of feminist religious movements that focus on female images of the divine Goddess suggests that many women, in addition to men, find goddess symbolism to be appealing. Many feminist artists too, claim to have found inspiration in goddesses and goddess symbolism as they provoke reminiscent feelings of a distant past—a vague, yet familiar reality lost to Westerners. Feminist critiques of religion and some postmodernists have taken issue with traditional images of God, arguing that male hegemony in Western cultures can be correlated directly with the centrality of a single, all-powerful male god in the dominant strands of the predominately Jewish and Christian religious heritage of Europe and the United States. Many would argue further that given this situation, it is important for women as well as for men with feminist goals to recover or create empowering female symbols to help combat the ones that support patriarchy and the denial of the feminine principle.

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For the past five years I have been researching the work of contemporary women artists from all over the United States. My mission has been two-fold; to study the stages of their development of an identity as women artists, separate and distinct from that of a male artist, and to study the impact and development of feminine mysticism on their lives and on the world at large.

Since the former concepts are too broad to be addressed here, and will be dealt with in two separate books, I will confine myself to a discussion of the latter category and will share with you some of the inspired and moving visualizations of the Divine Mother which these artists have graciously shared with me. I will also identify the unique and fundamental role female mystics and visionaries play in our society’s ability to shift into a “new paradigm,” which essentially is an integration between the masculine and feminine principle within each individual and society at large.

The feminist art movement in the 1970s paved the way for contemporary feminine mystics and visionary artists as they challenged the dominant patriarchal ideologies of Judeo-Christianity, particularly its overall subjugation of the feminine principle. Contemporary female mystics and Goddess artists both participate and expand on this tradition. However, working within a postmodern society undoubtedly poses new difficulties for contemporary women artists, especially for those who are committed to integrating spirituality into their work.

Although there are indeed more opportunities for women artists, they continue to work within a rational and patriarchal society that not only devalues the feminine principle, but subjective modes of knowing.

In the information age, many women artists face an overabundance of information and a bewildering range of options which can fragment and overwhelm them. Not only are they required to adapt to the rapidly changing technological age of computers, they are also required to develop an assortment of personal and business skills in order to exist in a highly competitive market, yet still live up to the expectations of the good mother and wife roles they have internalized from their parents and culture.

The complexities and demands these female mystics and visionary artists continue to face can often produce a deep wound, which I refer to as “the visionary’s wound.” This wound is caused by a backlash in the form of harsh criticism and rejection by a fearful and intimidated dominant paradigm that hates the reflection visionary artists can’t help but offer—a reflection of society’s shadow self, as well as its beauty. It is this wound that all mystics and visionary artists have to come to terms with at some point in their life in order to remain viable in today’s increasingly competitive environment.

Some have consciously chosen to hide out from the world because, in their eyes, the world is too painful for them to deal with. Others have made a conscious effort to heal their wounds and begin to trust in the Great Spirit to guide them on their artistic journey in the world. Nonetheless, many female mystics and visionary artists know of this wound; in fact, they live with it every day. Yet, ironically, it is often because of this wound that these women artists can create works so profound, so deep, so complex, so spiritual and so compassionate. It is because of this wound and the reclaiming of the parts of themselves that have been in bondage that their artwork is so exquisitely meaningful and impacting.

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For example, a painting entitled “An angry Young Woman” by visionary artist Uma Rose1 is a perfect example of the “visionary’s wound” and the anger and pain it has brought to her life. She views this painting as a premonition of sorts, as she didn’t fully understand why she painted it until later in life. At the time she did the painting, she had been delving into transcendental meditation, enabling her to get in touch with various hidden parts of herself.

The woman in orange is holding a rattle, which is a shamanic tool used to guide people into a higher state of consciousness. She intentionally made the woman’s throat area to look as if it was swollen, or as she describes it, “pregnant with rage.” While in a shamanic trance, a spirit guide came to her whom she describes as “a loving old wise woman who was trying to help me to release the rage that I was holding in my throat.” Uma believes this guide was an embodiment of the great Mother who had come to help her release pent-up emotions which had remained trapped in her emotional body. She believes this painting is an example of unconscious desire becoming conscious through the artistic process. In other words, her desire for emotional release as well as a desire for meaningful ceremonies was calling out to her, producing “a magical process of bringing unconscious desire into manifestation which brought deeper understandings about myself.” Through the embracing and releasing of her rage, or her shadow self, she was able to get in touch with her pain and the deep wounds that were blocking her ability to grow spiritually and artistically. It is through the release of this rage and the healing of her wounds that she was able to cultivate compassion for herself and for others.

Other artists have envisioned the divine feminine in the form of Quan Yin, who is one of the most universally beloved of deities in the Buddhist tradition. She is the embodiment of compassionate loving kindness. The many stories about this Goddess illustrate an enlightened being who embodies the attributes of an all-pervasive, all consuming, unwavering loving compassion readily accessible to everyone. Theresa Sharrar, an impressionistic and mystical painter from Silverton, Oregon, envisioned a bright and colorful representation of Quan Yin in a beautiful pristine garden with translucent pools of water cascading from top to bottom.2 To her, the water symbolizes the endless flow of love and compassion bestowed

by Quan Yin. Her loving compassion not only nourishes the human spirit, but calls us to open our hearts so that we can receive her love and in turn, learn to love and accept others.

Resonant of the soft and gentle beauty of Quan Yin, cosmo artist Ausmaminea from Sedona, Arizona created a stunning piece entitled “Life Pattern.”3 Although it wasn’t her intention to paint Quan Yin per se, she definitely captured her universal essence. She said, “The inspiration for creating this piece came from the beautiful poetry found within the unfolding of new life on a world as described in the Urantia Book. It was my desire to express a timeless sense of balance and serenity as the Universe Mother Spirit patiently and lovingly watches over the new stirrings of life. Through the medium of glass I worked a mosaic tapestry as part of the composition to express the diverse life pattern on each unique world. The oriental feel gives our mother a connection to this world, and yet there is an other-worldly aspect to her, I feel, that captures her essence as universal.”

13 The Great Goddess has most definitely revealed herself to various cultures in an assortment of ways. However, all cultures at some point referred to the Earth as the Great Mother, a living entity who in both her temporal and spiritual manifestations creates and nurtures all forms of life. In light of the ancient nature based religions, or the Gaia tradition, a number of female mystics envision the great goddess as Earth Mother. Krista Lynn Brown, from Deva Luna Studio in California, creates powerful, earthy Goddess images that portray a deep and rich relationship between humans and the earth. Her image entitled, “Sleeping Earth” is a potent representation of the Divine in all of her glory and splendor.4

revealing herself to me in this painting in one of her many forms. Yet, at the time I knew nothing of what the cave symbolized in ancient matristic societies. In fact, I didn’t know that the cave was a place of spiritual rebirth until I did the research for this article.

Another beautiful representation of the divine love between Mother and Father God is a piece entitled “Unification,” by cosmic and visionary artist Willowela Wilson.6 It is a beautiful representation of the love that is shared by the Universal Father and Mother. What is particularly stunning about this piece is the way she captured the immense love in the eyes of the two universal spirits.

Her work expresses the spiritual connection of all things in life, tapping into the Creator of all for her inspiration and direction. Willow says, “My hope is that my art will communicate views of a higher reality, one than in the last decade has become a very real part of my life. It is a reality that involves being conscious of the fact that I am not alone and that God—who is the greatest artist of all has so many wonderful celestial helpers to assist and work with us all in the creative endeavors in life.”

Offering sustenance and holding the seed of creation and potential, the great Mother nourishes us in more ways than we know. She says, “My paintings are an invitation into a hidden magical reality shimmering beneath skin of the ordinary—portals to an alive interior landscape of dreams, visions and possibilities. In this supple place, plants can awaken and dance, a woman can become a river sighing to the moon and a bird can embody the fleeting voice of intuition. I see this reality and paint it in a language of visual poetry, a tongue of archetypes woven into forms that echo the movements of nature, the undulations of waves, the growth of vines, the contours of flowers.” Krista’s images are by far some of the most powerful images of the Goddess I’ve yet to come across.

At the time I painted “Towards the Within” I was deeply yearning for a spiritual path which would incorporate the use of sacred ceremonies and meditation. I was also being called to integrate my spirituality with my art. After taking courses in the sociology of religion, I came to the realization that there are jewels of truth in all religious paths. In the funnel of universal unconscious seen in "Towards the Within" are found various religious symbols, such as the yin/yang symbol, the infinity symbol, the third eye, the Star of David and the cross, symbolizing a synthesis and integration of the world’s religions. What really surprised me about this painting, however, is what happened to me during the painting process.

Although I didn’t understand it at the time, after doing some research on the Tantric and Kundalini Yoga traditions, I’m convinced that while painting “Towards the Within” I experienced a raising of Kundalini energy in my sexual chakras causing me to have hot flashes, a quickened heart beat and to feel sick to my stomach. A combination of painting the womb of the Mother and using a lot of red and orange paint, the colors of the sexual chakras, may have been the catalyst.

Kundalini, the mystic fire, is the awakening of the great sexual powers, or shaktikundalini—the cosmic movement that is shakti, and her movement in the human body, which is kundalini.

Through their art and artistic processes, these feminine mystics and visionary artists yearn to teach us about our intimate connection to the spirit realm and the deeper realms of the unconscious. They are also helping us to cultivate more compassion for each other as well as for the Earth, our Mother, through a re-membering of the Goddess principle, or Mother side of the face of God. Most importantly, they are challenging us to move out of the modernist mode of oppositional dualism into a new (yet ancient), more integrated mode of thinking which combines the Mother/Father principles of God into a unified whole, or sacred union. Perhaps a true embracing of the concept of both Mother and Father God principles will help to further our understanding of what an integrated and inclusive life can really offer to us as individuals, as a people and as a world. ©Victoria Christian

Please note that you can see larger versions of each of the beautiful images above online!

Victoria Christian is a mystical artist, writer, sociologist and eco-feminist. She is the head editor as well as a contributing writer and artist in her upcoming book, Feminine Mysticism in Art: Artists Envisioning the Divine. For more information about her artwork and books, visit her website at www.victoriachristian.com.

(Endnotes) 1 Uma Rose, Angry Young Woman, www.rhiannons-visions.com 2 Theresa Sharrar, Quan Yin, tandr750@gmail.com 3 Ausmaminea, Life Pattern, ausmaminea@yahoo.com 4 Krista Lynn Brown, Sleeping Earth, www.devaluna.com 5 Victoria Christian, Towards the Within, www.victoriachristian.com 6 Willowela Wilson, Unification, galleria@cosmoart.org Thank you, Victoria, for sharing this writing and glimpse of your book and DVD. It is a pleasure and honor to host such wonderful artists and their messages. The preview on Victoria's website of the artwork embraced in her book is truly awe inspiring. When you would like to take time, reflect and go inward spend a bit of time at www.vicotriachristensen.com.

Also, much to my surprise, deep within the canyon walls a vagina emerged, partly covered up by the funnel of symbols. Next, the faces in the canyon walls began to emerge. Although I was a bit frightened at first by the experience, I felt an enormous amount of love flowing through my body, which helped me to relax and move with the experience. I feel strongly that the divine goddess was Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 13

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During the Neolithic Era, spiritual ceremonies were often performed in a cave. As the womb of the Earth Goddess, the cave was considered by the ancients to be the repository of mystic influences. In the original cosmology, a cave was the symbol of the whole world, providing passage for the dead and for the rebirth of souls. This is where one went to commune with the deepest, most resonant and awesome powers. In fact, many tribal people and Native Americans still hold the belief that their first, mystic ancestors emerged from caverns, or “the underworld.” One of my recent paintings, entitled “Towards the Within,” portrays a woman meditating in a cave, with sagebrush burning in an abalone shell5.

She is in a state of complete inner focus, which means her self or ego has been transcended. Rising above her head into the heavens is what I refer to as the universal unconscious or an umbilical cord to the spirit realm. Like Uma Rose, I didn’t fully understand why I painted this piece until much later when I happened upon the symbolism and meaning of the cave in ancient sacred art. Living in the southwest, I am surrounded by breathtaking caverns and caves, some of which have been designated as sacred sites to the Navajo and Hopi Indians. There are certain times of the day that the light shines through, illuminating the curvaceous and spiraling canyon walls. In my visits to various canyons, the peaceful stillness of the canyon quiets my mind and opens up the small still voice within me.

14

Mind of the Medium

by Karen M. Rider, M.A.

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One of Connecticut’s most respected intuitive mediums, Karen Hollis, never intended for a career in the metaphysical arts. Sometimes, the Divine Conductor orchestrates a symphony of an entirely different nature. Clint Eastwood grappled with this very topic in his recent film, Hereafter, starring Matt Damon. Though not quite as dramatic for Karen, who embraces her gift and all that it brings to her life.

However, Karen was led away from a highprofile career in marketing to what has become a thriving practice as a professional intuitive. Her clientele spans the globe as her skills transcend both time and space.

Karen and I spoke about her career, what it means to receive and to provide intuitive guidance, professional responsibility, and her hopes and fears for the future.

Fascinated with Tarot Art History While an undergraduate student at Salve Regina University, Karen “fell in love with the art, the spiritual and esoteric symbolism of the Tarot.” She also was intrigued by the historical influence the Church had on sending the cards underground, during a specific period in history. Little did she know that this innocent appreciation and curiosity was the thread that would tie together some of the most important moments in her life.

Years later, Karen went on to work for The Knot and a number of other high profile marketing organizations. One afternoon, while traveling her sales route in Connecticut, she happened upon a new age store. “I went in to sell advertising space and wound-up sitting down for a reading with the shopkeeper.”

“This complete stranger knew things [about my life], which he could not have known from any other source.” The man told Karen she would “have a career as a professional psychic. She laughed and was prepared to leave the store when the gentleman invited Karen to join a psychic development group. “I was still intrigued with the cards. You could say my curiosity got the best of me and I showed-up at the first class.” Soon after, Karen met the regarded psychic, Virginia Randolph, who has been her mentor for many years.

A Reading by Karen “The Tarot cards provide a source of information that can help people in situations where they are so close to their own issues they can’t see clearly,” Karen explained.

A reading by Karen begins with a prayer to invoke Divine guidance. I recorded my name on the sign-in form and gave my date of birth. Next, Karen prepared the regular deck of cards. I shuffled and split the deck a few times. As she spread the cards, Karen read (interpreted) the patterns that emerged.

The layout Karen used in my reading encompassed three time lines: past, present and future. Karen sees her job as “being a witness to” and “assisting a client in determining if she/he is living in the present moment, hanging onto old baggage or worrying about the future.” She also guides a client to seeing how events in the past infiltrate the present.

In my reading, Karen questioned an incident between my spouse and his brother.

She noted that this event “was anchored in the recent past but was on-going.”’ She also saw another person in the middle of it, “a mother or mother-in-law—more likely the latter.” If my spouse, whose picture appears in the dictionary under the term ‘skeptic,’ were sitting next to me, he’d have fallen out of his chair. Karen, whom I had never met (nor even heard of before this interview), had intuited a situation that was wrecking havoc in the lives of more than a few family members. Even though it was not the first thing in my conscious mind when the reading began, it carried enough psychic energy to reveal itself in the cards.

For the next phase of the reading, Karen prepared the Tarot deck. Her deck of choice is The Hanson-Roberts Tarot. Like the traditional deck of cards, the layout is significant but, with Tarot, the way the symbols emerge in the layout provides a more 14 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

striking revelation of the patterns, problems and possibilities in the client’s life. Based on the way cards turned for me, Karen provided guidance about my role and choices I might want to consider as I navigate through this family challenge.

Apparently, going into the reading and interview with thoughts about my writing career was not in the cards for me that day. One thing my subconscious wanted to see more clearly was my spouse! Even though we had not spoken since very early that morning, and I made the conscious effort to clear my mental clutter before I entered Karen’s sacred reading space, the event she spoke of in reading the regular deck emerged in the Tarot reading as well (and so much more). Karen didn’t make generalizations that I superimposed upon circumstances in my life. She was very specific. Karen and I have never crossed paths before this interview, yet she could see so much. There was a lot of information and energy to take in and hold space for in my mind and heart.

Guidance, Choice and Responsibility Karen encourages her clients to think about the guidance revealed in the cards in light of who they are and before making any changes in life, to consider the resources they have or need to acquire (e.g., timing, social support, financial and emotional resources).

“I do not make decisions for a client. I may talk through choices with them. My obligation to the client is to remind them of their responsibility for their life—what they choose or do not choose for themselves. I remind them to be patient with whatever they decide for themselves. No one should expect that instant gratification is the result of following guidance received during a reading.”

“It seems people have forgotten that manifesting (a verb) requires intention, action and surrendering expectation for a particular outcome. It took me a long time to understand this and it is a lesson I relearn on a regular basis!”

Karen continues with a smile, “its part of human experience to learn such things, part of evolving. Psychic guidance and intuition contributes to the process. Again, a psychic’s ethical responsibility is to share information from Source without interfering with a client’s decision-making process. [If they ask], I can try to help them think through consequences of choices they may be considering but I don’t interfere with free will.”

This lesson she learned from her grandmother and mother both of whom demonstrated the ability to know things before they would happen. “I never thought my mother or grandmother were different from anyone else’s... while they didn’t read cards or anything of the sort, they did honor their own powerful intuition and recognized the great responsibility tied to it. My grandmother taught me, no matter what ‘my feelings,’ not to meddle in other’s lives without their permission.”

Psychic or Intuitive: Do You Predict Your Own Future?

“I believe that the word ‘psychic’ has taken on too many negative connotations. There are fraudulent people who call themselves psychics, and I do not wish to be associated in any way with those folks. People who have genuine psychic skills will never tell you that you have a curse on you. They will not increase your anxiety in any way. They will not promise you things without some action on your part.”

“Are psychics accurate at their own readings?”

“I can’t predict my own future. It is my position that psychics should not attempt to read themselves. We’re too close to our own stuff to see objectively,” she responds with conviction.

“No matter the extent of one’s training, I don’t think it wise to read for one’s self.”

She reflects for a moment. The space around Karen is luminous. I don’t know if it is the lighting in the room, which is like an inter-spiritual chapel where you are surrounded by cross-cultural icons, or if it’s her aura. (If it is the latter, thanks Karen – yours is the first I’ve seen and, at the time of the interview, it’s a soft golden-green hue.) As if she were reading my mind, she continues: “Everyone has a gift of intuition. The difference between people who do this for a living and everyone else is the level to which one has studied and developed her or his intuition.”

Psychic Development Classes Karen offers a regular schedule of classes and workshops for those who would like to explore the history and application of Tarot as well as develop their own intuitive skills.

15 “Can anyone study and open an office, or are there certain qualities that make a person an effective reader?”

“I believe an effective reader wants to make a difference in people’s lives. They are non-judgmental listeners who can discern when a client may need a referral to a licensed counselor or other medical professional. I do abide by an ethical code to do no harm and to work with people within the limits of my knowledge and skills.”

“What advice do you have for a person who is thinking about meeting with a professional psychic?”

“Before scheduling a psychic consultation, a person should learn as much about that professional as they can. Read the website; ask for articles written about them; get referrals from past clients and even from other professionals—at the very least.”

(Author’s note: The Door Opener is a great resource for this kind of research.)

Messages of Light- What About Shadow?

“Help me understand something, if you can. A lot of advertising in the metaphysical community emphasizes ‘delivering messages of light.’ How can only light come through when we all have, in archetypal language, the devil in us just as much as the angel? Isn’t a psychic obligated to deliver both messages of light and shadow?”

Gongs and Crystal Bowls create a harmonic resonance that vibrates through each cell of the body.

When in their harmonic resonance, resistance no longer exists as a dis-ease factor within the body.

This allows the harmonic tones of our body, emotions, mind and spirit to produce a harmonious resonance within and without creating life as abundant joy.

All sessions are energetically supported.

Wear comfortable clothing. Bring plenty of water, eye covering, a pillow, blanket and something soft to lie on.

PLEASE no scents ~ perfume or cologne.

Join us Thursdays ~ February 17th, March 17th, April 21st & May 19th at 6:30-8:30 PM $20

Leapin' Lizards, 123 Main Street, Freeport

Reservations & Information 207 865-0900 Join us May 21st & 22nd at Leapin' Lizards for our second offering of the beginning Harmonic Sound Immersion Therapy Class prerequisite for continuing HSIT classes

© 2010 Karen M. Rider Karen M. Rider, M.A. has had conversations with many of today’s visionary thinkers and pioneers in integrative medicine, energy medicine and metaphysics. She has published feature interviews, articles, essays and reviews in popular regional and national magazines. Karen provides ghostwriting and co-writing services for conscious entrepreneurs and holistic health practitioners. She is writing her first novel, The Gathering, set at Gillette Castle in Connecticut. Web: www.KarenMRider.com.

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“I don’t use that language in my advertising, so I can only speculate. I think the professional [psychic] community wants to reassure potential clients. Some folks won’t go to a psychic if there is even a chance the practitioner will “see” something disquieting. In fact, many of my clients are anxiety-ridden. They seek answers to their troubles—financial crisis, loss of a home and other base securities. That being said, what is disconcerting to one person may not be to another.

“For example, is Death a bad thing? I am not God. I do not ask to see and will not predict a person’s death. I recite an opening prayer to create a sacred space. I ask that useful and uplifting information come through if possible.

“This is where professional ethics are paramount. My rule is if a client can avoid and/or actually do something about a potentially distressing circumstance that comes through, then I will share that information, providing it does not increase anxiety in any way. What would be the purpose in creating more turmoil in someone’s life? I’d much rather reveal to them where they can effect change and inspire them to bring light into their small piece of the world.”

Like the character in Hereafter, Karen does feel the heaviness of the Sight she has been given and the level to which she has developed it. It’s not what she does or does not see that scares Karen Hollis.

“What scares me is that I will die someday and I will have done so little to change the world for the better.”

Just as there is Light opposite the Shadow, so there is Hope to conquer Fear: “Every day I am given another opportunity to be remembered for caring about another human being’s suffering in the world, and that may change the world, for the better, one person at a time.”

Karen Hollis owns Readings by Karen located in Rocky Hill, CT.

Harmonic Sound Immersion

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Changing Our Minds ~ A Matter of Wolves

by Pat Foley There is a Native American teaching story that we heard so many years ago we cannot recall who told it or if its source was credited at the time.

With our apologies for those omissions, it goes something like this:

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Once there was a little girl whose grandfather was a respected member of their community. He settled disagreements fairly, helped those in difficulty in a way that maintained their dignity. He kept peace and harmony among the people and often was able to cure the sick and injured. In a thousand different ways he contributed positively to peoples’ lives, and always did this in a way that, at the same time, supported the community as a whole. The people respected his wisdom, listened to his words and generally followed his advice.

The little girl knew all this and was curious. She went to her grandfather and asked him “What is it like, being you?”

The old man thought for a few minutes and then he told her “It’s like having two wolves in my head. One snarls and bites. It is angry at peoples’ foolishness and wants to fight with them and drive them away. In addition, it wants everything for itself, the best food, the best den, the best everything. The other wolf is different. It wants to teach about cooperation and it knows that each other wolf has something to offer and needs to be a valued part of the pack. It understands together we are stronger than any one of us is alone. It has compassion and its actions support the welfare of its pack. Always these two wolves are fighting with each other in my head. Always.”

The little girl’s eyes got very large and very round as she considered these things.

But she didn’t say anything. Quietly she went away and for a number of days she thought about what her grandfather had said.

After some time had passed, she returned to him. “Grandfather, which wolf wins?” she asked. The old man replied: “The one that I feed is the wolf who wins.”

We don’t have to look far these days to find the snarling wolves. They seem to be everywhere. Be that as it may, a good question to ask ourselves at this time, a good question at any time, might be “Which of those two wolves are we each feeding?"

You may contact Pat at earthrest@psouth.net

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17

Awareness and the Art of Seeing: Contemplations on the environment and interconnection

by Jen Deraspe

Reality

I think climate change is real. I could be filled with hate and hopelessness with this belief, even as I take action. Also, with this belief I could see that it is real and accept it, trust all things, and act with peace and gratitude that I know how I can do my part. It is wonderful to feel active in the counter expansion of something we call global warming and even still, the world, as we know it could end tomorrow. I don’t know, I just know both ways I am taking action towards environmental stability, and one way it feels good and the other feels heavy and hateful.

The clearer my head is, the clearer my action is, the kinder I am to everyone and everything in front of me, including the planet. There is an inherent intelligence that arises in the present moment. Any belief or story that keeps me from the present moment effects my clear, creative, cooperative action. So I continue to clear the environment within the mind, and watch to see what reality offers.

Jen Deraspe, is the founder of Nurture Through Nature, an eco-retreat center in Denmark, Maine. Jen is a certified yoga instructor, a licensed Maine guide, and a certified coach and facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie. She has been leading holistic nature retreats since 1999. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 17

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A lover of what is looks forward to everything: life, death, disease, loss, earthquakes, bombs, anything the mind might be tempted to call “bad.” Life will bring us everything we need, to show us what we haven’t undone yet. Nothing outside ourselves can make us suffer. Except for our unquestioned thoughts, every place is paradise.

Byron Katie, Question your thinking, Change the world.

Regardless of my opinion about it, reality happens. There are two ways of dealing with it, with peace or with resistance. If I am in resistance, it is coming from inside of me. If I am at peace, it is coming from inside of me.

The circumstances are always changing and if my peace or happiness depends on Reality being a certain way, well... I will always loose to the Lord of Reality.

It seems like a kind option to be internally at peace with whatever manifests in each moment.

I find it is more efficient and flowing to deal with what is happening when I am in acceptance of it. And that doesn’t mean I am going to become passive and indifferent. It means I will be able to see and notice without an emotional reaction placed on top of the circumstances, and make choices based from that position or stance. Acceptance may just as readily imply peaceful action.

Happens

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Change ~ Part One

by Maria Harrison

This three part series offers an in-depth examination of the many different aspects of “Change” for the purpose of producing a new understanding for effective action.

Specific examination has been designed to unfold like a new spring blossom, unfolding gradually where all is not yet visible but continuing to unfold until one can appreciate the full essence of the nature of “Change” and its many different faces.

Throughout this three-part series, we invite you to become a different observer of yourself, others, things going on around you, and the happenings in the world that produce the magnitude of change we are experiencing. All available research and data suggests that we are in an era of dramatic transformation. So much change has already happened in a relatively short period of time. Remember when computers were big and expensive, when American-made meant quality and Japan meant cheap? Remember when your parents worked for the same company for 30 years, and TVs were small. That was not all that long ago! It has been predicted by authors such as Alvin Toffler and William Harmon that our world as it is now will look slow and uncomplicated compared to what it is sure to become within the next decade.

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One must create purposeful distinctions within the various examinations of the different aspects of “Change.” These distinctions are important if one is to become a different observer and begin to understand why we must become more efficient at what we have always done and shift our frame of reference about maneuvering in constantly churning rough waters. It is quite obvious that change is going to intensify and become more complex. New skills will need to be acquired to live harmoniously in constant transition as a way of being in the world. The consequences of inadequate responses to change and the lack of skills to manage change will become more costly than ever.

Living Organizations/Continuous Learning Research over the past decade indicates that to keep pace with the acceleration of change in the world, business entities will have to become "living organizations."

Living organizations are organizations that are purposely designed to be in the constant and continuous state of learning. This continuous state of learning produces constant and discontinuous change. An environment of continuous learning requires that we as individuals promote and nurture change and growth in ourselves. "Living organizations" provide a safe environment for learning and a safe environment for making mistakes as a process of learning.

These purposefully created environments promote the unfolding of human potential capable of navigating the waves of change like highly skilled sailors or competent choreographers. Organizations that take the initiative to become “living organizations” will begin to understand that a continuous state of learning creates change through the evolvement and wholeness of people.

The Speed of Change Historically, people have always had to confront the effects of change.

What has changed about change that makes our traditional responses to current change so frustrating, confusing, often late and inneffective?

What has changed about change is the magnitude of it. The volume, complexity and momentum of change is accelerating at unpredictable speed. The number of changes we have to face within a given period of time is higher than at any other point in our history. Just about the time we figure out how to implement a change, another change becomes necessary. The diminishing "shelf life" of the effectiveness of our responses to current changes is mind-boggling. Too many transitions are occurring too fast and many are occurring all at once. Never before has so much changed so fast with dramatic implications for human beings and the world. Not only are social institutions in dramatic transition but the social role of human beings in how they relate to themselves, others and the world around them is shifting. The work place is a sea of change with always more advancing technology changing the way we work, relate to each other, communicate and find solutions to problems we face.

New changes occur daily, but people cannot seem to absorb the effects quickly enough to keep up. The capacity of the human mind is far greater for inventions than its ability to assimilate the changes those same inventions produce. Faster and faster changes are coming our way that affect every corner of our lives. Educational systems which don’t work, politicians who are incompetent to get things done, leaders who don’t lead, government systems that we don’t trust, escalating substance abuse, rampant unemployment, global remapping and continual

18 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

transitions of power, to name just a few. Fundamental thinking about family, business, religion, education, government and human behavior that remained relatively stable for decades now don’t seem to apply anymore. Traditional ground rules don’t guarantee the results they used to, and in many cases are a hindrance to effective intended results. Many of the things we used to take for granted, we either no longer do or no longer can... the security of one’s job, the values and principles of the people who oversee the educational system, the integrity and dignity of those who govern, the competence of those who lead, the trust you used to place in your doctor and the faith you used to place in leaders.

The world is changing so rapidly that confusion and the inability to function have become more the norm than the exception. When people can no longer deal successfully with the amount of change in their lives, they begin to lose their ability to function. Fear and stress are usually intense and the emotional trauma of one major change after another often leaves people distant, irritable, preoccupied and unproductive. These are both individual and collective actions and can be seen in most organizations today where “change” is not designed as a continuous learning process.

Complexity of Change The complexity of the change that is occurring on so many different levels requires deeper looking into the serious implications and the decreased time frames we have to respond before another change demands our attention. The magnitude of this complexity can be mirrored in marriages that include children from other families, people from totally different cultures having to work effectively together in the workplace, acquisitions occurring during downsizing, technology that changes before we completely learn it, alliances with those we formerly feared and distrusted, and transitions of power that we don’t understand. The workplace is a complex mass of change. One day is not like the next. Ever advancing technology continues to change how we work, when we work and where we work. Just as we think we’ve learned it, it changes and we are again thrown into a complex set of circumstances and learning.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT CHANGE CAN CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY BOTH COMPLEXITY AND RATE OF SPEED? There are some fundamental issues that contribute to the magnitude and intensity of the changes we now face: faster communication and knowledge acquisitions, growing worldwide population, ecological distress, constant transitions of power, increasing interdependence and competition and diversifying political, ethical and religious ideologies. Human transformation is also complex. Change is not an event that occurs by linear progression; rather it unfolds on many different levels at once. People are a part of the ecological structure of the planet—they evolve and unfold. We all seek our own level of predictability and order. Major change limits our ability to be at peace and live fully. Our entire history as human beings is to understand, control, and dominate our environment. Unanticipated change shatters our expectations. It is not the events of change that cause so much confusion and overwhelm us, it is the unanticipated implications these events bring into our lives. Change cannot be demanded like flipping the switch on a machine, change is a complex emotional process of transformation. People can face unlimited amount of uncertainty and newness but when they exceed their absorption threshold, they begin to show signs of dysfunction, fatigue, emotional burnout, sickness and ineffectiveness. Until we learn to increase our capacity for not only accepting but flourishing in constant transition, the results are high levels of stress which most often show up in relationship conflicts, ulcers, suicide, divorce, burnout and resignation. When human beings can no longer assimilate change without becoming dysfunctional in their behavior, they don’t stop changing, they just become less and less effective both in their personal lives as well as in the workplace. The ability to successfully manage change has become one of the most important skills needed for personal happiness, success of organizations and the health of our environment.

Demystifying Change Change can be interpreted as a mysterious phenomena or an understandable process that can be anticipated and managed. It is important which specific

Continued on Page 32

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The Emotional Vampire Survival Guide: Emotional Freedom in Action

by Dr. Judith Orloff Adapted from Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life Three Rivers Press, 2011

T

o be emotionally free you can’t remain naïve about relationships.

Some people are positive and mood elevating. Like vampires, some people do more than drain your physical energy; they can suck optimism and serenity right out of you. A ‘powerful’ vampire can make you believe you’re an unworthy, unlovable wretch who doesn’t deserve better. The subtler species inflict damage by making small digs that make you feel bad about yourself. For instance, “Dear, I see you’ve put on a few pounds” or “You’re overly sensitive!” Suddenly, they’ve thrown you emotionally off-center by prodding areas of shaky self-worth. To protect your sensitivity, it’s important to name and combat these vampires. The concept struck such a collective chord in my book, Positive Energy. In my latest book, Emotional Freedom, I illustrate how it applies to protecting yourself mentally and emotionally by not absorbing other people’s negativity.

How to Spot and Emotional Vampire

• • • • • • •

Your eyelids are heavy—you’re ready for a nap Your mood suddenly shifts in a negative direction You crave carbs or comfort foods You feel anxious or depressed You feel animosity You can’t wait to get away You feel put down, sniped at, or slimed

Vampire #4: The Splitter or Borderline Personality Splitters see things as either good or bad and have love/hate relationships. One minute they idealize you, the next you’re the enemy if you upset them. They have a sixth sense for knowing how to pit people against each another and will retaliate if they feel you have wronged them. They are people who are fundamentally damaged—inwardly they feel as if they don’t exist and become alive when they get angry. They’ll keep you on an emotional rollercoaster and you may walk on eggshells to avoid their anger.

How to Protect Your Emotions: Stay calm. Don’t react when your buttons get pushed. Splitters feed on anger. They respond best to structure and limit setting.

If one goes into a rage, tell the person, “I’m leaving until you get calmer. Then we can talk.” Refuse to take sides when he or she tries to turn you against someone else. With family members, it’s best to show a united front and not let a splitter’s venomous opinions poison your relationships.

Judith Orloff MD is author of the New York Times bestseller Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Three Rivers Press, 2011) upon which this article is based. Dr. Orloff synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting-edge knowledge of intuition, subtle energy, and spirituality. For more inspiration, free videos, articles, and full book tour schedule visit www.drjudithorloff.com, or for more local events see our Calendarof Events, page 42 & 43.

Protection Techniques from “Emotional Freedom” Against Emotional Vampires Vampire #1: The Narcissist Their motto is “Me first.” Everything is all about them. They have a grandiose sense of self-importance and entitlement, hog attention, and crave admiration. They’re dangerous because they lack empathy and have a limited capacity for unconditional love. If you don’t do things their way, they become punishing, withholding, or cold.

How to Protect Your Emotions: Keep your expectations realistic. These are emotionally limited people. Try not to fall in love with one or expect them to be selfless or love without strings attached. Never make your self-worth dependent on them or confide your deepest feelings to someone who won’t cherish them. To successfully communicate, the hard truth is that you must show how something will be to their benefit. Though it’s better not to have to contend with this tedious ego stroking, if the relationship is unavoidable use the above strategies to achieved desired results.

Vampire #2: The Victim These vampires grate on you with their “poor-me’ attitude and are allergic to taking responsibility for their actions. The world is always against them, the reason for their unhappiness. When you offer a solution to their problems they always say, “Yes, but.” You might end up screening your calls or purposely avoid them. As a friend, you may want to help but their tales of woe overwhelm you.

How to Protect Your Emotions: Set kind but firm limits. Listen briefly and tell a friend or relative, “I love you but I can only listen for a few minutes unless you want to discuss solutions. Then I’d be thrilled to brainstorm with you.” With a coworker, listen briefly, sympathize by saying, “I’ll keep good thought for things to work out.

Then say, I hope you understand, but I’m on deadline and must go back to work.

Then use “this isn’t a good time” body language such as crossing your arms and breaking eye contact to help set these healthy limits.

Vampire #3: The Controller These people obsessively try to control you and dictate what you’re supposed to be and feel. They have an opinion about everything. They’ll control you by invalidating your emotions if they don’t fit into their rulebook. They often start sentences with “You know what you need?” and then proceed to tell you. You end up feeling dominated, demeaned, or put down.

How to Protect Your Emotions: The secret to success is never try and control a controller. Be healthily assertive, but don’t tell them what to do. You can say, “I Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 19

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You already have an intuitive sense within you that signals when you are in the presence of an emotional vampire. Spotting a vampire in your midst is more about how you feel than how they behave. It’s important to cultivate and awareness of your mental-emotional state, especially when you may already feel vulnerable (e.g., due to fatigue or stress). The following are signs you can monitor in yourself to determine if an emotional vampire has entered your energetic space.

value your advice but really need to work through this myself.” Be confident but don’t play the victim or sweat the small stuff. Focus on high priority issues rather than on putting the cap on the toothpaste.

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t he w ay o f lif e - it s e l f

by Norm Hirst

What does it Require of Us Now?

What are the Possibilities?

Requires a New Mind

The Phenomenon of Life T

here is so much talk about the shift, the change coming about in the year 2012. We see this shift occurring now; it is a 2000 year event. It seems the universe has an epochal time cycle that occurs every 2000 years. There are many ways the universe is showing us this. We’ve had one such event with the Winter Solstice – a 2000 year event with full moon and lunar eclipse all occurring on the same day.

Shockingly, every day, amazing discoveries are emerging from results of laboratories from around the world converging with insights that when joined together entire universes of reality are suddenly being explained about this living universe. There was a case in point only a few months ago that concerned the role of water in life itself, and properties of water we never knew it had. We can only say given such incredible changes occurring, we really don’t know what to expect. But...

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Let’s talk about the phenomenon of life and what it requires of us from what we know so far.

The findings that delineate the new picture of the world come from almost all the empirical sciences, from physics and cosmology, from the life sciences, even from consciousness research. Although their subject matter differs, their findings have a common thrust. They disclose interaction that creates interconnection and produces instant and multifaceted coherence.

The hallmark of a system of such coherence is that its parts are correlated in such a way that what happens to one part also happens to the other parts hence it happens to the system as a whole. Ervin Laszlo, Science and the Reenchantment of the Cosmos.

New discoveries are revealing the arena we live in to be a living organism.

Indeed it appears the cosmos is a living organism. A new understanding of what life is and the organizing principles in life have been revealed during the past two decades as never before.

To understand the ways of life-itself as an organism, we need a new mind: a fullness of perception that has only been shared through sign systems like art, new kinds of formalisms, and “felt-sense” knowing that reaches beyond the reality of the tangible.

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The current reality change is making a transition from a rigid, mechanistic, and materialistic worldview to one that is built on a foundation of interconnectedness, cooperation, and coherence. There is a narrowing intersection of science and spirituality. It demands new ways of knowing.

A time of such fundamental shifts brings possibilities as well as confusion.

Ironically, as humans, it seems we have much to learn about what it means to be alive because a majority of effort by humanity has gone into learning more about things, technology and matter, not life-itself.

What used to work no longer will. We can find evidence everywhere. Scientific materialism has dominated every fabric of our existence so much so that few people today even know that is was a philosophical metaphysical choice so many years ago (at least 2500) that took science in the direction it has. Unfortunately, today, the nature of science has been totally lost. We need to restore real science to provide help for us now in confusing times. Now we get to choose again. Hold the thought and intention that we recognize our connection – feel it and change our minds. Life is requiring it of us now.

Come join us in this revolution of mind – discover a new mind... it appears to be happening faster than we could have imagined. And the miracle is only beginning.

Norm and Skye Hirst, PhD – co-founders of The Autonomics Institute.

Together they are combining their work as consultants, researchers and educators to bring this emerging view of life as organism into focus. As the shift of consciousness occurs, Skye works as coach and educator to individual progressive leaders worldwide, helping business owners, policy makers, and community organizers process the difficult challenges facing us at this time. Beginning at MIT studying physics, mathematics and values, Norm chose as his life work the study of where and how values show up in science. 50 years later he’s bringing out his findings of a whole new reality, philosophy and science for understanding life-itself dynamics.

Contact them at hirst@autognomics.org or shirst@autognomics.org.

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wa ndering s age w i s d om Mind Like Water Aya Itagaki

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by Aaron Hoopes

Please visit my blog to share any comments you may have.

More Wandering Sage Wisdom at: http://wanderingsagewisdom.blogspot.com.

Aaron Hoopes has spent 28 years studying and teaching martial arts, tai chi, yoga and meditation. He is the founder of Zen Yoga and the author of five books. He teaches an Online Personal Development Course for Spiritual Deepening and holds retreats at the Ledge End Retreat and Healing Center in the mountains of Vermont. His bestselling Zen Yoga Daily Warm-Up DVD is a simple method for integrating breath and movement into daily life. Please feel free to contact Aaron: breathe@artofzenyoga.com. Visit the Zen Yoga Website: www.artofzenyoga.com

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 21

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or many people the practice of meditation is an opportunity for gaining some control over the often-hectic thought process of the mind, the success of which is usually in direct proportion to the amount of time actually spent in meditation. If you throw a handful of dirt into a glass of water and shake it up, you have a glass of muddy water. If you set the glass aside and allow things to settle, the dirt sinks to the bottom and the water becomes clear. This is a simplification of the basic meditation process. The mind is the glass of water, the swirling dirt makes up the myriad thoughts we have filling our heads during every waking moment of every day, and meditation is setting the glass aside to allow the thoughts to settle.

Most of the time we spend our days listening to this nonstop monologue inside our heads. Do this, go there, buy that, eat this, look there, smell that, I like this, I hate that, she’s funny, he’s smart, I wonder if, etc. It never ends. From the moment we wake to the moment we go to sleep, the chatter continues unabated in our heads. On and on it jumps from subject to subject, idea to idea, emotion to emotion, and thought to thought like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, occasionally stopping to drink more fully of some idea or thought, and then off again. Sometimes, when it finally does stop on one subject it clamps onto it tightly, causing us to think continuously about it, processing the subject from every angle over and over until it borders on or becomes an obsession. We have all experienced this at some point when we have stressed about something so much that it seemed to consume us – maybe it was an unexpected money issue or a personal confrontation with someone. We can get so caught up in the worrying that even eating and sleeping become difficult. Our glass of water can get very muddy.

In traditional martial arts the concept of Mind Like Water goes deeper. Mind Like Water is used to define the state of perfect readiness in preparation for executing a response to any given situation. Imagine a pool of water. If you throw a pebble into the center of the pool, the water ripples out in a totally appropriate response in relation to the force and mass of the input. The water’s reaction is in exact proportion to the size of the pebble. If we toss a big rock into the pool, we get a large splash and bigger ripples. Each and every time the response is exactly as it should be, given what we throw into the pool. The water doesn’t overreact with a huge splash when a small pebble is thrown in. Nor does it under react with a small splash when a boulder

is dropped into it. When applied, this concept can be very useful for anyone in the process of navigating through our hectic world.

Water is shapeless. If you put water into a glass it becomes the glass. If you pour it into a bucket it becomes the bucket. It reacts to any situation just as it needs by following the path of least resistance. If you place a large rock in a mountain stream, the water will find a way to flow around the rock and continue on.

Mind Like Water is the process of mindful awareness. When our minds are full of thoughts and distractions, we have difficulty responding effectively to situations that come up. If we have too much stuff going on in our heads, we can miss opportunities or fall into difficult situations. On the other hand, if we are focused on the present moment, we are able to see our situation clearly and react in an appropriate and effective manner. We basically become ready for anything that life puts before us. In this way we are able to bring a sense of calmness and peace to our lives.

Mindful awareness of the present moment is based on intention. Intention is a concentrated focus of the mind, causing the occurrence of events in our lives.

When you intend to do something, you cause it to happen. If you do something unintentionally it is from a lack of mental focus that it comes to pass. Learning to stay present is training intention. Training intention allows you to be successful in whatever you attempt.

Unlike more modern styles, traditional martial artists train their minds just as hard as they train their bodies. They understand that the physical body has limitations and techniques that depend solely on physical action will always be less effective than techniques that are done with a connection between the mind and body. Summoning the mental energy needed to deal with a situation is creating intention. When the mind has a clear idea of the task at hand and its commitment to that task, the motions of the physical body will be controlled and guided to their highest levels of proficiency. Our response matches the size of the stone thrown into the pool of our mind.

Water flows to the path of least resistance yet it has the power to overcome any obstacle. If we are able to maintain our center in the present moment we are able to react and adapt to situations as they appear. Cultivating this can be a challenge if our mind is swirling with dirty water. Finding a few moments each day to sit and allow the thoughts to settle will be of great benefit. You don’t necessarily have to think of it as meditation…

Think of it as watering your mind.

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Change Your Mind, Change Your Life!

by Sandra Diamond

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xperience teaches that all life is filled with an ever flowing process requiring the making of decisions. Responding to these decisions involves many deviations from our comfort zone. If we don’t respond, then our lives become stagnant, dull and without that spark of enchantment. It is in this constant state of flux that we realistically find ourselves. The “changing of minds” discussed here involves techniques used to interact with the past in order to alter the point of view in the present.

The result is changing your awake, daytime dream; how to live life moment by moment. It’s called re-dreaming or re-scripting life. The Buddhists use the term re-becoming, which involves many lifetimes. Here, I am simply talking about this current life time.

Refocusing your mind in this context involves altering perception of events from the past, so that they no longer have an emotional weight or connection in the here and now.

With deep dedication and devotion to task, someone can adjust how to interact with individual life history. The trauma and the drama that has occurred in life cannot be changed; never ever can factual events be altered. The only difference is in the way a person reacts and interacts with those facts in life. The venom from life can be removed.

How? How is this possible? Well, I am so very glad to address this here and now. There are three techniques to examine: Regression Therapy, Soul Retrieval and Recapitulation.

Regression Therapy.

With the tool of Regression Therapy, the therapist takes the client into the past; deep within the subconscious mind are suppressed fears and traumas.

The details of why we have deeply illogical fears may not be remembered. The questions, however, remain.

“Where did this fear come from? Why do I have this fear?”

People don’t always know the whys and wherefores but they do have that nagging fear of the dark, or fear of heights, or some such irrational response to a particular action or behavior. Regression Therapy allows clients to discover what prompted the behavior in the first place.

Perhaps a friend or brother locked “her” in a closet as a joke, or while playing and then went outside for a few hours, completely forgetting about that person locked away in the closet. It wasn’t until it was almost dark outside that he thought of coming inside to eat and then… oh, yes, get that person out of the closet. Now, this person is 48 years old and suffocatingly petrified of the dark. The memory of the brother’s cruel prank is long since gone. There is no recall of it, only that ever constant, paralyzing, nagging fear of the dark. With the use of Regression Therapy, images and memories begin to return. Both parties were very young. The brother didn’t really mean any harm. There is an understanding of the truth of what happened from a rational point of view. It is easy to forgive this friend or brother because he was a young child with no wish to harm, only to play. There was no connection to consequences of lighthearted yet ill chosen actions.

Once the memory is retrieved, then the great overwhelming fear begins to fade away.

Sometimes this occurs gradually and sometimes immediately. The behavior is now modified, the mind has realigned itself and the fear is gone.

Soul Retrieval In ancient, indigenous cultures, the Shaman was called upon for a deep healing to help a person live life from a place of wholeness. The healing is needed because the person feels powerless to interact on most, if not all levels of life.

In our culture, deep trauma can result in a splitting of personalities. We know it as schizophrenia, the symptoms involving split personality or multiple personality disorder. This is also sometimes referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder.

The triggering event or continuation of events becomes so painful that for self preservation, the personality checks out and another personality surfaces, or even several personalities can arise. The TV show, The United States of Tara, demonstrates the differentiation of personalities remarkably well.

Spiritually, this is what happens on the level of the soul. Pieces of the soul split and break away, so that the experience of emotional, spiritual or psychological pain is lessened; negativity and intensity is lessened. This is known as Soul Loss. Soul Loss occurs with the incidents of accidents and illness, trauma and stress. When too much Soul Loss occurs, there is a fragmentation and a person can become functionally helpless on all fronts; family and relationships, jobs and careers. There is no personal power. Typically, that is when someone comes in for a Soul Retrieval; a gathering and reconstruction of Soul energy which allows a person to reclaim strength and power, confidence and success in order to move forward in life. It is an honor to perform these indigenous healing rituals. The benefits are surprising. The result changes how a person interacts with the reality of life. There is an ease and grace that had not existed before. It all stems from a sense of wholeness.

Have you ever seen your computer defrag? That is what is done in a Soul Retrieval, your soul has fragmented into so many pieces that there is not enough personal power to manage day to day chores and interactions. Like our computers, defragmentation, or a bringing together in a profound manner is the result of a successful Soul Retrieval.

It is a great adjustment to state of mind and life lived!

Recapitulation Recapitulation is a technique generally found in Mexican and Central American cultures. It is a recapturing of past events. Rather than being a passive recipient of Regression Therapy or Soul Retrieval, Recapitulation places the client in the place of active power. With guidance from a Shaman, known within these cultures as a Nagual, a person stalks with awareness the past events of their lives. Deep meditational exercises are practiced, sometimes with crystals and breath work, with the purpose of locating memories that have escaped them during day-to-day life. The person doing the recapturing of memories becomes the predator and the memories to be recaptured become its prey.

Again, it is imperative to note here that Recapitulation is similar to Regression Hypnotherapy.

It is different, however, in that the practice causes the seeker to reconnect to all details of life as a drain of energy, a drain of personal power.

The task is to regain painful memories and heal them by granting forgiveness to others who were involved; similar to one of the A.A. steps. While forgiving others, we are being forgiven by others and most importantly, forgiving ourselves for any judgments and negative, non-supportive opinions formed along the way. These actions free up so much energy. Consequently, it leaves the practitioner with incredible personal strength so that the way life now lived is completely free from past pain. The client moves within his world from a different viewpoint, a different vantage point. This work is incredibly helpful, whether the client is spiritual or practical in nature.

So although you may alter your viewpoint from time to time, the changing of mind from your past invokes a dramatic difference in how you interact with life in the present. Burdens are lifted. Life is indeed enchanted and wholeness is yours.

With deep dedication and devotion to task, someone can adjust how to interact with individual life history.

22 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

Supporting client wellness, Sandra is an internationally trained master teacher and healer, T'ai Chi & QiGong Instructor. The foundational work for her is in T'ai Chi and QiGong, which she began studying in 1992. A registered Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master and teacher, she has a masters degree in Experiential Health & Healing. Sandra studied Shamanic healing & counseling and performs soul retrievals. She was initiated in the foothills of the Himalayans as a Tamang Shaman from the Bon tradition. Sandra trained in Tui Na, an ancient healing art, in the Xuan Wu hospital in Beijing and is a certified Toltec teacher under the auspices of Miguel Ruiz's Sixth Sun Foundation. She also leads annual trips to the pyramids at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Her background provides a wide variety of techniques and experiences in support of her clients. You can connect with Sandra at http://local.yahoo.com/info-48230833-dragonflyllc or www.dragonfly-llc.net.

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a b rea th o f he alin g

Mastering Your Mind ~ How to Change?

by Donna Amrita Davidge

W

e have a 1000 thoughts per blink of an eye according to Yogi Bhajan, Master of Kundalini Yoga. The yoga sutras state that we practice yoga to cease the fluctuations of the mind. With 1000 thoughts per second to choose from we can see why it is easy to change the mind constantly. The mind is our control center for how we act in life. Each choice is created within our mind. Whatever our age we might self reflect, self inquire and ask ourselves how the choices we have made have worked for us thus far. However, we judge that we can be sure that through our choices we create the direction of our life.

Some of us are more scattered in our mind, the vatta dosha in Ayurveda, some of us more earth bound and constant, (kapha) and some more fiery, having a mind that seems to forge ahead like a fire (pitta).

nostril breathing will warm the mind and stimulate the intellect and the rational.

We know that different parts of the brain affect hearing, seeing, speaking and generating words, for example, which is a big part of helping us to change our mind. When I started yoga I had no idea that slang words could be violent. I have eliminated them from my speech.

The goal in yoga is to come clearly from a neutral mind, speaking your truth.

We can feel when someone is doing this. There is a grace to it. Many people have an image of a yogi sitting in bliss calmly all day long and being that way in all situations with nothing affecting them. Keep in mind that yogis are human too. Each yoga teacher, even the Masters, are human. We are all learning, some faster than others. Some call it karma. More likely we are householder yogis, living in this fast-paced world of stress with our own stress and challenges. The biggest challenge for many minds is not to judge but instead keep working on your mind. A simple example of that would be the person who walks out of yoga class saying to a friend “I cannot believe how she… whatever… about her yoga practice” or about their teacher. We all do it. We are human. When we realize we are doing that, let us instead catch ourselves, catch our mind, respect others and their right to their life and their opinions.

At the same time I observe people taking the time to self observe, self analyze and become more self-aware. When we go in this direction our mind and actions can change, but they don’t always. Results can be slow, instantaneous or somewhere in between. It may be subtle. We step in to our first yoga class, maybe looking to get some exercise or relaxation, and start awakening to our breath. Our mind feels different too as a result. Without even realizing it we may have changed our mind, choosing healthier foods, healthier lifestyle habits and even healthier relationships.

Norman Vincent Peale and others have known and shown the effects of working with our mind. Everything can change. The small stuff may change and the big stuff – getting impatient in traffic, for example, or transforming your relationship with the negative tapes in your mind or a person. Destructive habits that are a reflection of our not tending to ourselves can be replaced with self-talk like “I am deserving of treating myself well. I am willing to do the work. I will go to yoga class or set aside time to meditate on breath or mantra and observe the workings of my mind.”

When you challenge your mind, you can find your emotions changing too.

By self observation something that once frustrated you or made you angry can be replaced with a better understanding. In Kundalini Yoga we speak of having three minds – the negative, the positive and the neutral. Knowing this, we can look at our feelings, thoughts, our words, and our actions and say “Aha, that was not so good. Maybe my negative mind did not serve me in that conversation; I was not kind. I was judgmental” or “Wow, my negative mind really protected me in that situation; something told me to create that healthy boundary, and I did.”

I don’t think the mind is the same thing as the brain. The brain is still a complex frontier that we are exploring and discovering. But science has proven that different parts of the brain affect our behaviors and how we think.

Meditation and yoga definitely improve the outlook of the mind and the body.

We know that left nostril breathing will calm the mind and cool it while right

Our mind has so many layers. The hardest one to change and tap into is the subconscious. Some forms of meditation are said to do that. Dreams can help us do that.

Mantra means to direct the mind. We can use mantra too. When earlier similar experiences come up in our lives they are often not so apparent. But they still trigger the old tape. Someone speaks to you with a certain tone, looks at you a certain way, says something they think is harmless and you react, as we did in the past. One of the things we can learn from the graceful yogis is to respond, not to react, to think back on what the current situation may have mirrored, even if it was not exactly the same. When I was in my internship to be a dietitian in the 1970's, I was called in and reprimanded. This had been a pattern with other teachers in my past who were harsh with me when I did not realize I was doing anything wrong or “breaking the rules.” My reaction was over the top sadness and hurt because I was not yet conscious enough to see what it was triggering, what I needed to heal in myself. If you know yourself, you cannot be taken over your strong center of who you are. As someone said to me later in life, “You have a good heart but someone did a number on you,” and so the number got played over and over again until I started the process of self-refection. Now when it plays I can see the karmic pattern.

Change takes discipline and practice, but it is worth it. Whether it is getting on your mat every day to do your practice, meditating or any other tools you use for self improvement and introspection, allow the wonderful opportunity to change the things in your mind which are holding you back from being the best you and knowing that best you more deeply.

A recommendation that can help us is The Greatest Secret of All by Marc Allen, a New World Library book.

Conintued on Page 31

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Having not grown up in the information age, it appears to be that our mind has so many more options for distraction than when I was growing up. I could fall in to watching too much television if not monitored by my parents, and I have had parents today tell me that it is challenging to monitor their children, who have the constant distractions available in the information age. Our mind has opportunities to constantly shift directions as we surf the web, text and drive (please don’t) and switch music around on our ipod.

24

Divine Change

by Kat Logan

A

young girl was walking down the main street of her village, longing for a little bite of sweetness but not having a penny in her pocket to buy one with. A little boy, was sitting in the same village on a curbside feeling lonesome. The Angels are also here in this village, watching over the little boy and the little girl. So begins our story.

How it ends is up to you...

(Scene 1) As we were saying, a young girl walked down the main street of her village. Dried, crumpled leaves scattered with the wind that chilled her bones and gave a hurry to her step as she unnoticing passed the small boy who was sitting on the stoop. Oh, how she hungered for a tiny bite of sweetness, to ease her troubles and take her away from this dark, grey day. But she had no money, and there was none to be had in this horrible, no where town.

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Above, the angels were listening to the prayers of the little boy who sat alone on the stoop. He was asking for a friend to come to play with him so that he would not be alone any more.

(Scene 2) A young girl merrily walked down the main street of her village. She was excited, feeling the day was full of potential and that magical surprises were around every corner. “Oh what do I desire?” she asked herself, knowing that her heart was full of the Divine and that blessings were upon her. Her heart radiating, was like a beacon to the Angels that were watching from above. YUM, a nice piece of red licorice would be just perfect, she decided and skipped on her way.

She stopped to see a glimmer of a shiny coin, catching the sun as it was tossed by the young boy, sitting on the stoop, in front of the candy store. “Hi!” says the boy. “Would you like to share some licorice? I just found this coin on the ground, right beside this beautiful white feather!

Let’s go get some!"

This is a parable about what potentials are available to us within our lives. Our Angels do listen to our prayers and the Divine is always waiting for us to shine our hearts out with our enthusiastic belief that we are deserving to receive our desires. In our times of trouble, the danger is that we will start seeing only the dark and the grey of each day. It takes a practice to believe. It takes a daily ritual of reciting, “I am worthy” to know that we deserve to be attended to by our Universal life force.

The attraction principal that like energy attracts like energy is a big part of this story. Every moment of our lives, we are given a choice about how we want to work with this amazing energetic "at-tractor." It is our thinking that will guide the toss of our “divine change.”

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I hope that you will see your divine change shimmering all of your potentials clearly, effortlessly and delightfully in your lives.

Kat Logan is an intuitive healer, artist, musician and teacher and lives with her husband, Jim Loney in Friendship. For more information about Kat and her work, visit her website at www. mygreatfullheart.com.

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24 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

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26

t he 2 1 s t c e n tur y b oh em i a n

Changing Our Minds Through Oneness Blessings

by Teresa Piccari

T

uning into a favorite program on WERU, a Maine community radio station, literally changed Lucy Pincince’s life. As she listened to a syndicated New Dimensions segment on a healing modality called Oneness Blessings, something resonated deep within her. “It was a calling, just like Joseph Campbell talks about. I heard it,” she recalled. And she heeded that call.

Shortly after hearing the program, she sought out and had two Oneness Blessings.

The day following the first blessing, Pincince found herself in a situation that had repeatedly, in the past, caused her irritation. “The next day when that scenario happened, I didn’t feel myself get angry or feel frustrated inside. I said to John (her husband), I think there may be something to this Oneness.”

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Never second guessing her decision, Pincince headed to Fiji where personal growth guru Tony Robbins had donated land and built buildings for a satellite location of the India-based Oneness University, where she did her first level of Oneness training over nine days. Synchronicity also had a hand in her journey. Pincince recalls that her mother had recently died, leaving her a “stash of cash” that was the exact amount it cost for the $2,000 flight to Fiji and the training, a total expenditure of about $7,000. “It cost a pile of money,” she said, without a trace of regret.

“I couldn’t not do it. It was one of those things. I did it, but I was terrified. Fiji is a heck of a long way away, nearly halfway around the world,” said Pincince, who makes her home in Mid-coast Maine.

Once back in the states, she offered the blessings to her husband. “And then I watched John’s transformation. It changed his life,” she said.

The Oneness Blessing A Oneness Blessing, also known as Deeksha, is not associated with any religion, and is given by touch on the top, or crown chakra, of the head. It can be done in under a minute or last longer. Like other modalities, such as Reiki, Oneness Blessings can be given through intention, allowing for distant healing.

Benefits of Oneness Blessings The general benefits of receiving a Oneness Blessing include: • Higher states of consciousness • Deep inner peace • A balancing of energy centers • Relaxation • Healing of past and present trauma • Renewed energy “I feel it’s all the same energy, from the same universal source, just like Reiki, although for me Reiki is a subtler form of energy than the Oneness Blessing,” she explained. No stranger to the healing arts, Pincince has studied Reiki and Shambala energy modalities. She is a licensed and nationally certified massage therapist, and also was a licensed Speech and Language Pathologist for 25 years.

An individual’s experience of receiving energy can vary greatly. And, as with many forms of healing, a Oneness Blessing can trigger an emotional or even physical release, clearing obstacles from one’s path and removing that which does not serve a person’s highest good. Typically, a Oneness Blessing brings about stillness and peace.

My own experience with them is to gain a profound sense of well-being that is not tied to external circumstances. When I trained as a Oneness Blessing Giver in June 2010, I did experience a wave of general anger, not event-specific or reactive, that rose up and was released before my training process was completed.

Changing Our Minds The purpose of the Oneness Blessing is to raise our vibration and raise our consciousness, in order to help change the world we live in. The blessing stimulates and activates the parts of the brain that experience joy, happiness, bliss and divine love, and deactivates the parts of the brain that experience suffering. This allows for a shift in consciousness so that we begin to naturally perceive and experience life in positive and creative ways.

“It certainly changes your brain. Research has shown there is a neurobiological change in the brain, that dampens the part of the brain that goes into a flight or fright 26 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

response, and stimulates the part of the brain that experiences a sense of well-being,” explained Pincince, noting this information is contained in the book Awakening to Oneness by Arjuna Ardagh, the author she heard being interviewed on the radio.

The Roots of Oneness The Oneness Blessing movement, which began in 1989, has its roots in India, near Chinnai, and is led by twin avatars, a husband and wife team, known as Sri Amma Bhagavan. The man, Bhagavan, was aware of his life mission from the age of three.

As a spiritual avatar, he has dedicated his life to the purpose of helping humanity. His specific goal is to help ease the suffering of humanity. Through Oneness Blessings, the avatars hope to awaken a critical mass of humanity throughout the world.

Once enough people are awakened, it is believed the world will be a much better place. That people will have evolved beyond the need for separation or boundaries, and that humans will bask in their connectedness to one another.

“I like the idea of no boundaries, the idea that it won’t have to be about my religion or your religion, my country or your country,” said Pincince.

The goal of the twin avatars is to have between 60,000 and 70,000 people awakened worldwide by 2012, a figure they believe will represent enough of a ratio to tip the scales and allow humanity to make that all important leap in consciousness we have talked of and heard so much about.

The process should be completed by 2035, noted Pincince, at which time the world will be vastly different from the one we live in now, she added.

The Journey Continues In India during the spring of 2010, she received Level 2 training and became certified to train others as Oneness Blessing Givers, over a 23-day period. In January, Pincince has plans to travel to Toronto, where she will learn the last of several deepening processes related to Oneness.

Pincince offers free Oneness Blessings each Tuesday at noon at High Mountain Hall, located at 5 Mountain Street in Camden, Maine. She is assisted by other blessing givers who have trained with her. Since her return from India, she has trained 36 people as Oneness Blessing Givers.

Meg Sideris, who did an extensive renovation and owns the center, provides the space at no charge. This in turn, allows Pincince to offer the healing on a complimentary basis, which she believes is in keeping with the twin avatars’ intentions to make the blessing accessible to all, while also increasing the number of recipients in order to shift human consciousness exponentially.

For more information on Oneness Blessings visit www.OnenessUniversity.org, www.WorldOnenessCommunity.com or contact Pincince at ashgrove2012@gmail.com or (207) 230-2410. © 2011 by Teresa Piccari

Teresa Piccari is a writer, teacher and creativity coach living in coastal Maine.

She is the proprietor of The Village Scribe, a professional writing and editing business, at The Wellness Center in Camden at 71 Elm St. She teaches writing workshops including Memoir, Creative Writing and Mythic Structure, and she also runs the monthly Ducktrap Writers’ Round Table on third Sundays at the Camden Public Library from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Contact her at The21stCenturyBohemian@hotmail.com or (207) 344-7070.

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27

Happiness Through Chanting

by Ashok Nalamalapu

I

was born and raised in India, where it is normal for people to be involved in expressions of religious devotion. I’ve been living in the US since 1987, and normal here is somewhat different.

Thus it was a gratifying and humbling experience to see thousands of white people chanting the name of Hindu deities at the Bhakti Fest in Joshua Tree, California.

People were in ecstasy in chanting Sanskrit words and dancing. People from all over the world were happy and greeting each other with great affection, sharing blankets with each other in the dust of the desert.

It was a divine blessing to take Saul David Raye’s yoga classes while Dave Stringer was doing live kirtan at the same time.

Out of the four paths, Raja Yoga (Conquering Internal Nature), Bhakti Yoga (Devotion), Karma Yoga (Work), and Jnana Yoga (Knowledge), Bhakti Yoga is the easiest way to realize God in this period called “Kali Yuga.”

Bhakti Yoga is devotion to God with love. Chanting, meditation, reading sacred scriptures, prayer, and self-less service are a few acts of Bhakti Yoga.

Chanting sacred words and mantras is an ancient practice. Chanting creates mysterious power within. It also improves concentration. A word like “Om” creates vibrations inside and outside ourselves. As it resonates with the universal sound it unites us with all that is.

Calling the names of the incarnations of divinity awakens the divinity within us.

Chanting is a form of meditation. When we chant with concentration and love we feel blissful.

Ashok: Where do you chant?

Wah: You can chant anywhere: in your car, at your altar in the morning, in the shower, while you chop vegetables, and while walking. It is designed to be a friend to your mind, a tool to be used at any time to remember God’s hand in your life.

Ashok: How can we use or apply chanting in our everyday lives?

Wah: Get a CD and find a song you like.

Put it on every day and chant to it. It’s good to do it at the same time every day but that is not required. It is good to do 10-20 minutes at a time.

I also use the CD to play a track all night. Select one mantra and put it on “repeat,” then set the volume low enough so you can hear it but not be so distracted you can’t fall asleep. Let it play and soothe your brain while you sleep.

You will be amazed at how you will feel when you wake in the middle of the night and hear the mantra. It is quite lovely.

Ashok: How did you first get into chanting?

Wah: During my undergraduate years at Oberlin College & Conservatory they offered a class on Raga – teaching classical Indian music on western orchestral instruments. I took the class on violin. The class led me to learn tabla and Indian singing and bhajans and mantras... It just kind of took off from there.

Ashok Nalamalapu of Sadhana, a yoga, meditation and spiritual center serving people from all walks of life; ashok@SadhanaMe.com, (207)772.6898, www.sadhaname.com.

When we chant as a group, it creates peace and unity among people of different faiths. As we happily chant we feel the divineness. One does not have to understand the words. They are simple words. Some leaders call these words while the participants respond by repeating. Other leaders prefer to sing along with the participants. One does not have to be a trained musician to sing these words. It has been said that some peace in the world is created by the vibrations of these chants.

One of the chant leaders of international stature is Wah! I interviewed her about chanting, which is called Kirtan in Sanskrit.

Ashok: What is chanting?

Wah: The repetition of a mantra using song and melody. It is different than silent meditation, but its goal is the same: stillness of the mind and an open heart.

Ashok: What are the benefits of chanting?

Wah: Gathering together with others and sharing an experience of openness.

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 27

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People didn’t mind staying up into the wee hours, because it was a festival of devotion. Even a few days after leaving the Bhakti Fest, I felt elevated by the vibration of loving energy generated by the festival.

We chanted for peace, well being, and love for all the people around the world.

Masaru Emoto says the most powerful words he used in his work with water were “Love” and “Gratitude”. When you come together as a group to experience love and gratitude, it is greater than if you sang, prayed, or meditated alone.

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welcome h o me

ask asrianna Questions and Answers on Relationships, Spirituality and Conscious Living

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Dear Asrianna My youngest sister is a drug addict. She’s several years younger than I am and I spent a significant number of years practically raising her.

When I was eighteen I moved to Hawaii to escape the grief of an ended love affair. I have never forgotten my little sister’s howls of pain at the airport as I boarded the plane. I know now I left her when she needed me most.

Over thirty years later I see this small shell of a once beautiful woman who mutters to herself, sits drugged in a chair rocking, lost in her drug induced world.

She has a teenaged daughter and a grandson as well as a precious eight year old boy. They’ve all watched her at every ugly stage of her addiction.

To add to this, our father is an alcoholic, mother is a penniless gambler living off another sister, and my addicted sister’s husband is abusive both physically and verbally. As I write this I feel certain it all sounds unbelievable. The gallows humor part of me hums the old Hee Haw variety show song, “if it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all, gloom, despair, and agony on me.”

Sorry, but this is too bizarre even for me.

I have another brother and sister and after a bleak series of events over the holiday, we did a sibling, family intervention. It was hard, heart-breaking, and cut me to the depths. At one point I was sitting in a rocking chair and my tiny sister climbed into my lap and curled up like an infant.

As I rocked I wept, wondering how to help her. I live out of state and my siblings and I are desperately searching for a rehab center. None of us has any money of significance and although we have some clues, it’s hard to know where to turn.

I know you can’t cure my sister and I don’t expect a miracle. But can you help me make any sense of this? What are the spiritual lessons I need to learn? I feel fundamentally guilty, as if I failed my precious sister in some way. What is the purpose of this suffering? I’m angry at my parents even as I know they did the best they could.

In many ways I feel the most to blame.

Signed, Oldest Sister Dear Sister, Let me pause here for a moment and sit in honor of your pain which you’ve a right to feel. Your story is so tender and poignant. If only it was unusual but while you might feel solitary in your suffering, there are many families and individuals dealing with various forms of addictions. And having more than one type of an addiction in a family dynamic is quite common as each member tries to find their own form of escape from what is painful.

You might not easily know this because at the heart of all addictions is the persistent pulse and rhythm of secrecy. Not the least of which is secrecy from self. We’re taught to keep everything hidden from others so in one form or another, we’re all in hiding.

What we’re really hiding from is fear.

Yes, I’ve come to believe that fear is at the heart of every known behavioral malady attributed to humankind. Whenever there is unkindness, whenever there is cruelty or avarice, whenever there is judgment or behavior of the worst kind, fear lurks only a breath away.

Yet let us not make healthy fear the nemesis it isn’t meant to be. Consider the humble field mouse. When he pokes his head out of his burrow, he’s not looking for the natural grasses, the clear blue sky, the normal chirp and flutter of birds. No, he’s looking for what is dissonant, what doesn’t fit.

His fear and his innate desire for survival keep him in familiar territory and makes him instantly aware of the rush of hawk wings or the trot and dash of a darting fox.

Fear is that small mouse’s early warning detection system and it keeps him alive.

So let’s not demonize fear. However, there’s a difference between healthy caution and immobilizing terror.

Why am I bringing up fear? Because whenever we cannot sit unaided in the present moment, it’s due to fear, a fear of feeling pain. Like that scampering mouse scurrying from the jaws of the predator, we run frantically from discomfort and we have myriad ways of doing so.

We over-work or over-play. We buy bigger and better cars, larger and more elaborate houses. We change simple cell phones to technological masterpieces that allow us to turn every moment into a game or app, to turn our minds away from the moment we’re in.

28 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

There’s shopping, drinking, drugging and gambling, sexual behaviors that move into the obsessive and damaging, and every compulsive behavior in between. We can take our prescription pills to ease the anxiety and others to keep us alert and motivated.

In essence, we can do everything but learn a healthy way to exist with the inevitable chance and uncertainty of daily life.

Sister, like every child of addictive parents you and your siblings learned various tools to survive. I often say that we’re each given a basic tool box at birth. Then we gather additional tools through our upbringing. Later we accrue a few more on our own through trial and error.

These tools are the ways we deal with the stresses and challenges of life. And much as they might have helped at one time, they may now stand in the way of health and joy. When our tool box has been cobbled together through dysfunction, it will eventually meet up with a task it just can’t handle, a pain that can’t be avoided.

Addiction then gets added to the arsenal of outmoded tools.

You’ve asked the meaning of this suffering, what lesson you’re meant to learn. First of all, while I do believe in a meaning with a capital M, I also believe in the great Mystery of Life and as such I am not always certain we’ll know the truest reasons until we’re in the company of Spirit. So we find the meanings we can, we glean from every experience the wisdom that can help us live meaningful, loving, and yes, joyful, lives.

With that in mind, Sister, I’m brought to think of your compassion.

For many, suffering cracks the granite surface of an unmarred, hardened heart.

Just as a seed cannot penetrate a field whose surface is untilled, so love finds a slim foothold in a heart that hasn’t been opened by the suffering of self and others.

When you were a willing lap for your sister to climb into, you offered a safe haven of love and acceptance.

Make sure and provide that same compassion and love for yourself, Sister. You are filled with shame and guilt and pain over things you cannot change. In feeling this way you ignore the fact that perhaps your choices were exactly as they were meant to be for the spiritual growth of all concerned. None of us are truly privy to another’s soul blueprint and as painful as your sister’s addiction is, it may be that it serves her soul’s evolution in ways we cannot see.

Identify the emotions you feel, understanding that you have a right to every one that arises in your being. It’s easy to acknowledge the generosity we exhibit when we give to a charity, it’s much harder to look at the jealousy in our heart at the good fortune of another, or the anger over being cut off in traffic.

Yet there isn’t a wrong emotion to have, there’s just the fact of its existence in that moment of time. So honor your generosity. Honor your jealousy. Give honor to your anger. Say, “Ah, I see that I am jealous of so-and-so’s good fortune.” Understand that identifying an emotion is not the same as acting upon it. You merely notice its appearance and then give yourself the compassion of realizing it is yours for now, and for whatever reason.

After you identify and honor the emotion, then you integrate it. For many, this takes the shape of finding meaning in whatever it is that has happened and the emotions it has engendered. Some individuals find meaning in life-threatening illnesses by using their new appreciation for life to open them to greater sources of love and abundance.

Others will find seeking meaning to be difficult if not impossible. Neither avenue is wrong or right.

Integration is the process of pulling the experience into the context of your life.

You are not your sister’s drug addiction, Older Sister, or your father’s alcoholism, or your mother’s gambling addiction. Yet those elements of your life shape you in some way, creating in you the gallows humor you spoke of, the ability to be present in a supportive way during the intervention, the love that keeps you hopeful and searching for additional help for your sister.

The last step is transcending. You move forward touched and shaped by the wisdom and compassion of what you have experienced. You are not your suffering, or your sister’s addiction, but they have irrevocably been a part of the person you are, the older sister who holds her beloved younger sister and does so with tears in her eyes, and a willingness to be present even in the pain.

Many, many blessings to you, Asrianna To have your questions answered, please email your letters or comments to

Asrianna at Asrianna@Asrianna.com

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Pet Poison Control How To Practice Pet Safety In Your Home

by Donald and Sara Hassler

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very day we look to find new ways to help keep our pets safe and away from a life-threatening disaster. Sometimes this can be a great challenge knowing that what we keep in our homes can be toxic to our animal companions.

We thought it might be nice to take a look at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center's 2009 statistics in order to find out exactly what we can learn to focus our efforts on. As it turned out there were numerous health related emergencies phoned into the poison control center and many that could be easily avoided with some simple safety guidelines. Below are some informational 2009 stats from the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center that show how many times a pet got into trouble and needed emergency care or poison control advice. We've included some easy to follow prevention tips and wish everyone including our loving animals a safe and happy home!

People Food Can Be Poisonous To Pets 17,453 calls were phoned to the Animal Poison Control Center where pets were poisoned by people food. The one food that was found to be worst offender was chocolate. Others foods included grapes, raisins, certain citrus fruits and avocados.* Prevention Tip

Keep Your Pet out of the ER Room & Follow Food Safety!

Resources: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/people-foods.html http://www.avma.org/animal_health/brochures/hazards/household_brochure.asp

Human Medications can Kill Your Pet 45,816 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.* Prevention Tip Human medications can be snatched off nightstands and counters by furry thieves and can be quickly consumed by a pet if they accidentally fall onto the floor.

Keep meds locked up or far out of reach. Our best tip is to pet proof your home when it comes to medications. Keep meds out of reach up to 5 feet or behind a cabinet door or drawer that has a child/pet safety latch on it.

Exercise Human Medication/Prescription Safety

People food and table scraps can be fun to share with pets but there are a variety of foods that are toxic to animals.

Resource: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/top-10-humanmedications-that-poison-our-pets.html

The top 13 foods that are a danger to pets and should be avoided are:

Although humans and animals may use the same medications in different doses, many medications are not pet-friendly.

1. Chocolate Dark chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate/White chocolate contains the least amount of methylxanthines/Baking chocolate contains the highest levels of methylxanthines 2. Coffee/Caffeine 3. Alcohol 4. Avocado 5. Macadamia Nuts 6. Grapes/Raisins 7. Yeast Dough 8. Raw/Under cooked Meat, Eggs and Bones 9. Xylitol/Sweetener in gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste 10. Onions/Garlic/Chives 11. Milk 12. Salt 13. Fungi/Mushrooms These foods can cause serious health issues like: • Vomiting • Diarrhea • Difficulty breathing/panting • Elevated body temperature • Excessive thirst/urination • Hyperactivity • Abnormal heart rhythm • Tremors • Seizures

The top 10 human medications that are toxic to pets are: 1. NSAIDs/ibuprofen/naproxen/other pain relievers 2. Antidepressants 3. Acetaminophen 4. Methylphenidate (for ADHD) 5. Fluorouracil/anti-cancer drug/topical treatment 6. Isoniazid/for the treatment of Tuberculosis 7. Pseudoephedrine/decongestants/sinus medications 8. Anti-diabetics/glipizide/glyburide 9. Vitamin D derivatives/calcipotriene/calcitriol 10. Baclofen/muscle relaxant These medications are very dangerous to pets and can cause health emergencies like: • Stomach/intestinal ulcers • Kidney damage • Increased urination/thirst due to kidney failure • Vomiting • Lethargy

Continued on Page 31 Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 29

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Pet owners can work to keep their pets away from people foods. Ask other family members to stick to a pet healthy diet and only give their furry family members pet friendly foods. Make special Pet Food containers to keep pet foods separate from people foods. House-guests can be asked to refrain from feeding pets. It is highly suggested to explain the importance of pet food safety with guests so they can spread the word too. A quick note on chocolate is that it contains methylxanthines, a chemical that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst, urination, hyperactivity, an abnormal heartbeat, tremors and seizures. Chocolate should be kept safely away from pets, young children who may 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.

• Death • Decreased coordination • Central nervous system depression • Abnormal blood acidity • Coma • Fluid accumulation around the heart • Weakness • Depression • Hyperthermia • Kidney failure • Rupture of stomach/intestines • Salmonella/E. coli poisoning • Skin/coat allergies/problems • Choking/splinters/punctures in digestive tract/bones • Release of insulin/ hypoglycemia (lowered sugar levels) • Elevated liver enzymes/liver failure • Red blood cell damage • Sodium ion poisoning

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ex plorin g the wor l d r e l i g i on s

Thomas - A Gnostic Gospel from a Parallel Universe or Past Life

by James Bean

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n 1945 this mysterious ancient text known as the Gospel of Thomas was unearthed in Egypt along with forty-nine other fascinating writings from the early days of monastic Christianity in the Egyptian desert. The Book of Thomas was also used as scripture by the Valentinian sect in Egypt and elsewhere around the Roman Empire in the Second and Third Centuries, a Gnostic movement with a version of Christianity that’s seemed much more “Eastern,” in many ways closer to Hinduism and Buddhism.

Meeting An Unembedded Messiah For the First Time

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Have always been a fan of this contemplative “wisdom gospel,” with its format of proverbs and parables. It contains absolutely no narrative whatsoever. It’s comprised solely of one hundred and fourteen unvarnished sayings of Jesus, one after the other, and that’s it. There is no commentary, no spin, and no story. No more Roman centurions, scribes, Pharisees, and locusts to block our view. Rather than being presented through the “lens” of others, the reader encounters a more direct, unfiltered historic Jesus. The picture goes from black and white to Hi-Def. The intention by those who compiled and circulated this collection is to encourage readers to deeply ponder each and every saying for themselves, leading them to their own personal insights and revelations, to internalize the words and be transformed by them – lectio divina.

This collection of sayings allegedly recorded by the Apostle Thomas has a definite allegiance to the Inner Circle of Hebrew Disciples or Ebionite Movement that was originally lead by the Apostle James of Jerusalem.

“The disciples said to Jesus, ‘we know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?’ Jesus said to them, ‘No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.’” (Saying Twelve) The Gospel of Thomas was missing for almost two millennia until three copies of it were almost miraculously discovered several decades ago: two sections of it written in Greek found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and a more complete edition in the Coptic language found near Nag Hammadi buried under the sands of time in a clay storage jar. This lost book has been found, and now has it’s own home page on the worldwide web. The “second coming” of Thomas has occurred – it is a “resurrected” or “reincarnated” book, if you will. Practically predicting it’s own rediscovery the Book of Thomas says: “Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor anything buried which will not be raised.” (Saying Five) Though nowadays associated with Egypt, these surviving pages are copies of an even earlier Greek manuscript most likely originating from Syria, which was, and remains, home-base of the “Saint Thomas Branch of Christianity,” the SyriacAramaic Church of the East. It is said that Saint Thomas during the First Century AD headed east, eventually ending up in India, where he spent the rest of his life.

That’s recorded in another holy book known as the Acts of Thomas, one of several writings in the Thomas tradition: Gospel of Thomas, Thomas the Spiritual Athlete, Psalms of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Acts of Thomas, and The Apocalypse of Thomas. For more on “Sayings Gospels,” type the word “Logia” into the search box at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logia.

Summarizing the Spiritual Message of the Gospel of Thomas in the Context of Syriac Mysticism The Living Master said to his initiates: “What your own eyes cannot see, your human ears do not hear, your physical hands cannot touch, and what is inconceivable to the human mind – that I will give to you!” (Saying Seventeen) “Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the Hidden Things will be revealed.” (Saying One Hundred Eight) The 30 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

Master taught his disciples that in order to see the spiritual realm, they must “fast from the world” and enter into heavenly repose (Sabbath rest) – rise above bodyconsciousness, mental impressions, memories, worries, and agitations. They must set aside some time to rest spiritually, to temporarily close their physical eyes (and ears) to the outside world in order to “see the Father”, the Supreme Being, with the eye of the soul. (Saying Twenty-Seven) Quite frequently mystics describe inner visions as something that spontaneously appears when they reach a certain level of interior awareness called “pure prayer,” a term used for what we might call “meditation.” The Egyptian mystic Evagrius wrote: “The offspring of pure prayer is swallowed up by the Spirit. From this point on, the mind is beyond prayer, and prayer has ceased from it now that it has found something even more excellent. No longer does the mind actually pray, but there is a gaze of wonder at the Inaccessible Things which do not belong to the world of mortal beings.” (The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life) “We have come from the Light.” (from Gospel of Thomas, Saying Fifty-One) “For you have come from it, and you will return there again.” (from Saying Forty-Nine)

Becoming a Child of the Light Many of these spiritual movements of Essenes, Gnostics, Friends of God, Ebionites, Manichaeans, etc... have described themselves as “the Children of the Light.”

It was not an old scripture dating back many centuries, but a living teacher by the name of Yeshua who once taught his living students at the time that they would be able to experience “entering the Kingdom,” the other dimensions of Inner Space in the present-tense by seeing Divine Light. Note: the usage of the word “Light” here is not as a metaphor for intellectually understanding teachings, but refers to a real Divine Light that is mystically seen during contemplative meditation with the eye of the soul.

“If your eye be Single, your whole body will be full of Light.” (Saying preserved in Matthew 6:22) “For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with Light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness.”

(Yeshua, from Saying Sixty-One, Gospel of Thomas) Becoming “a Single One,” a spiritually whole person united with God, was the goal of the Thomas tradition of Syrian mysticism. “When you make the two into one... then you will enter the Kingdom.” (Saying Twenty-Two) The spirit, mind and body of the mystic all become united in God; its new way of being is “Singleness.” The word for “Single One” or “Singleness” in the Syriac-Aramaic language is “Ihidaya,” and is used to describe souls that enter into mystical oneness. (“Ihidayutha, A Study of the Life of Singleness in the Syrian Orient,” ARAM Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies) According to this book by Sebastian Brock of Oxford, the hermits of the Syrian tradition eventually were called “the Ihidaya.”

However, “Ihidaya” isn’t merely a title, office, or a robe that one puts on, but is a matter of spiritual realization, an interior state of being, an individual experience, a mystical level of awareness that is reached by a contemplative soul.

“There is Light within a Person of Light, and it illuminates the entire cosmos.”

(Saying Twenty-Four, Gospel of Thomas) Kabir said, “The Light of one soul is equal to that of sixteen suns.” “When the Father, who alone is good, visits the heart, he makes it holy and fills it with Light. And so a person who has such a heart is called blessed, for that person will see God.” (Valentinus of Alexandria) “Faith in Christ is living, noetic Light. The Light of Jesus is noetic [spiritual] Light, and blessed is the soul which is accounted worthy to see it!” (Saint Isaac the Syrian) “The sun of consciousness within my heart keeps on shining and shining, all the time. Neither does it set nor does it rise.” (Maitrey-Upanishad) “Man’s soul shall become, when it leaveth the body, a great flood of Light, so as to traverse all the regions until it cometh into the Kingdom of Mystery... Seek, all of you, after the Light, so that the power of your soul that is in you may find Life. Do not cease seeking day or night until you find the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you,

31 transform you into pure Light, and guide you into the Kingdom of the Light.”

(Gospel of Faith-Wisdom – Pistis Sophia) “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.”

(Saying One, Gospel of Thomas) Recommended Reading: *The Gospel of Thomas – Scholar’s Version Online: http://users.misericordia.edu//davies/thomas/Trans.htm *The Gospel of Thomas – Wisdom of the Twin, Lynn Bauman, White Cloud Press (See Amazon.com); *The Gospel of Thomas – The Gnostic Wisdom of Jesus, Jean-Yves Leloup, Inner Traditions (See Amazon.com); *The Gospel of Thomas: Annotated and Explained, Stevan L. Davies, Skylight Illuminations (See Amazon.com);

*The Gospel of Jesus - In Search of His Original Teachings, John Davidson, Science of the Soul Research Centre (See Science of the Soul Website): https://ssl.perfora.net/s112005287.oneandoneshop.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=15 4cbe2bc2c073f/shopdata/0025_SSRC+Books/product_overview.shopscript *The Stranger of Galilee - The Sermon on the Mount and the Universal Spiritual Tradition,” Russell Perkins, Sant Bani Ashram (Ordering Information at Bottom of Web Page): http://www.santji.allegre.ca/books/galilee.html.

James Bean interviews guests, reviews books and music for HealthyLife.Net Positive Talk Radio and other stations via a syndicated radio program called Spiritual Awakening, and teaches Sant Mat Meditation and Surat Shabd Yoga in the Bangor, Waterville, & Portland areas. Address questions or comments to James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com, (207) 358-9381..

Continued from page 29 ~ Pet Poison Control, How To Practice Safety In Your Home •

In the event of an emergency pet parents can: 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) Information on hand should include: • Species • Breed • Age • Sex • Weight • Number of animals involved

• Symptoms • Information of exposure/agent (if known)/Poisonous substance/ Packaging/Product Container • Time of exposure and time elapsed since exposure If your pet has lost consciousness, is having difficulty breathing or is having seizures: • • • •

Phone your veterinarian’s office or emergency care clinic Alert them to possible poisoning issues Give them an estimated time of arrival 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 the time spent re-organizing the garage, garden shed or home into a pet-friendly environment that is healthy and safe. By working hard and practicing how to prevent an untimely emergency, avoid a health crisis by safety proofing your home and your habits. You and your pets will be able to enjoy the peace of mind that comes from living safe, healthy and happy lives—together. * Online source ASPCA: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/top-10pet-poisons-of-2009.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.

Donald and Sara and Marley and Belle, write, produce and host their own talk radio show called The Responsible Pet Owner, which airs live on Good Company 14/WILI in Connecticut. Visit them online at www.responsiblepetowner.com.

Continued from page 23 ~ a breath of healing ~ Mastering Your Mind ~ How To Change?

Meditation for Change” This is a simple meditation that can help you work on the mind.

Sit in a chair or cross-legged on the floor, spine straight.

Bend your fingers down so the tips touch the mound of the hand, except for the middle finger, which is also tucked under.

Let the middle knuckle of the middle fingers touch.

Let the thumbs touch and stretch back toward the middle of your chest (the heart center) Close your eyes and focus between your eyebrows or have your eyes 1/10th

Do long deep breathing through the nose for 3, 11, 22 or 31 minutes to help you handle the fear and doubt associated with change, which robs you of your strength and focus.

Donna Amrita Davidge owns and operates www.sewallhouse.com Yoga Retreat in Island Falls, Maine (since 1997) when not teaching in NY City (since 1985). Sewall House welcome small groups, single guests and all levels of yoga practitioners and was chosen top ten worldwide in 2009 and 2010.

Donna’s husband Kent has recently released the (vegetarian) recipes for their acclaimed food (as requested by guests!) in a recipe booklet available on their site. Open May through October and certain holidays and by pre-arrangement in winter.

open looking at the tip of your nose.

Truth follows the universal acknowledgement of what is.

True is expressive of what an individual considers to be real.

Which do you serve?

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 31

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Serotonin syndrome/agitation/elevated body temperature/heart rate/blood pressure/disorientation/ vocalization/tremors/seizures • Red blood cell damage • Inhibition of oxygen transport • Liver • Disorientation/lack of coordination • Massive drop in blood sugar levels • Elevated heart rates • Increased blood pressure/body temperature • Seizures • Severe vomiting • Cardiac arrest • Severe seizures resulting in death • Spikes in blood calcium levels • Significant depression • Vocalization • Coma

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Shugendo Yoga- Multi-disciplinary Approach to Healing

by Max Holton

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magine a simple yet profound personal practice that harmonizes the body, mind and spirit. A practice adaptable for all. A practice that is available to the masses. A practice known for its healing ability. The practice is Shugendo Yoga www.shugendo.com .

Shugendo Yoga is a practice that was developed by a registered nurse who was also a practicing healer, Buddhist Priest, and martial artist. That person is Christopher Bashaw a New Hampshire native. Bashaw took his understanding of the body and disease process and re-evaluated how dis-ease is looked at; he then examined the healing process used in western medicine and calculated where that process fell short.

He then searched out many of his traditional trainings in the healing arts and began to merge the concepts of healing into a master plan for the individual to take a more active role in their personal recovery. What emerged is now known as Shugendo Yoga, a practice recognized by the World Yoga Hall of Fame.

This simple practice was shared along the NH seacoast as well as the Monadnock region while simultaneously in the Providence, Rhode Island area until recently – in small classes and private sessions. In time Rick Wilmott, also a martial artist and healer, learned the Shugendo Yoga system and with Bashaw formed the Shugendo Yoga Kai International (SYKI), an organization dedicated to promoting the system and educating and training others to teach the system.

The unique aspects of this yoga system are that it can, and is expected, to be adapted to all abilities of those who practice. A typical session lasts 50 minutes and is comprised of five separate, but inter-related portions, all geared to heal the body against a specific disease process while promoting a spiritual and calming nature. Each session begins with a 108 mantras; a vibrational sound geared toward harmonizing body, mind, and spirit, preparing the individual’s essence for the harmony and balance to be restored from its dis-eased state. Each session’s mantra is selected to work on the disease process identified. Then a specific self-healing modality is introduced to continue to climb towards the homeostasis that the mantra has begun. These selfhealing modalities can include, but are not limited to, shiatsu, mind-body medicine, jin shin jitsu, and esoteric energy and shamanic healing. The third step in the session appears more to what most would think of here in the west, as typical yoga. The asana or yoga posture is introduced, and introduced in a manner where it is then

adapted to meet the limits and abilities of each person participating. Typically three postures are introduced; once again with the specific mind-set of the disease process at hand kept in the mind’s forefront. These postures are done gently and with the intent of circulating and moving life force energy into balance, more than just simply used as a stretching routine. Once the postures have been done qigong is introduced.

Qigong or “chi kung” is also known as Chinese Yoga. These simple, but profound exercises cultivate the chi or life force energy in a manner to once again specifically work with the previous sessions while restoring balance to the body. The forum is then ended with meditation to allow the blending of the complete session to evolve and manifest wellness. Often by the end of the very first session individuals begin to experience relief of symptoms. Bashaw and Wilmott suggest for a specific dis-ease that a regular practice, which includes class instruction and continued training in the privacy of home can radically change one’s life for the better in as little as thirty days or less once they have implemented Shugendo Yoga into their way of life. People ages 17-70 have participated in treatments and classes and all have found profound benefits to the Shugendo Yoga practice.

SYKI has developed a teacher training, 200 hours, to become a certified Shugendo Yoga instructor. Based on weekend training and correspondence this course was designed to allow people to afford excellent instruction with the hopes of more Shugendo Yoga classes and sessions being conducted so that more people can benefit healing in diseases from fibromyalgia to carpal tunnel, combating depression and more. Training has been designed to take a novice or a yoga master through the steps to implement this powerful system of healing. Both Bashaw and Wilmott hope that current yoga instructors, martial arts school owners, rehab centers (physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and doctors) and holistic healing arts practitioners will become trained Shugendo Yoga instructors, sharing the system with students and clients, while adding a significant healing modality to their repertoire of healing based modalities.

Those interested in training or bringing a workshop to schools or organizations visit the Shugendo Yoga website or contact Bashaw Chris@shugendoyoga.com or Wilmott Rick@shugendoyoga.com.

Max Holton is a Shugendo Yoga practitioner and freelance writer in the New England area. Photos are courtsey of Kim Testa Photography, Cranston, RI.

Continued from page 18 Change ~ Part One interpretation is used because it can make the difference between people feeling victimized, viewing change as something that happens to them or an interpretation that promotes confidence, knowing that change can be skillfully implemented. Senior executives and managers can learn to create interpretations of change within their organizations that empower people, build confidence and make them competent over time to ride the rough waves of constant churning waters. Purposefully building and designing interpretations that enable people to grow their capacity to transition and change saves time, money and human damage. All too often organizations allow “change” to appear as a mystery guest with no explanation of how it got there or where it is going. Communication is often lacking or unclear and there are no on-purpose designs for learning, understanding and acquiring the skills for transition. Change can be introduced as a learning process. When people learn that change often can be anticipated, planned for, and expected, they begin to see change and transitions as an opportunity for learning and growing. Through this learning process, assumptions, misconceptions and traditional interpretations of “Change” that, although widely held, are based more on fear and prejudice than fact, can be altered. However, because this kind of unconscious indoctrination is so widespread, most people report that they expect to fail or do poorly during transition.

Myths Regarding Change Like so many myths in any culture, most myths consist of unconsciously held beliefs that are seldom discussed or examined openly. In addition, many people respond to these myths so automatically that they are often not even aware that they hold these beliefs. They are also not usually aware of how widespread these beliefs are... so often they are concealed by their own obviousness. Some specific examples are: 32 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

• • • • • •

People are born a certain way and probably can’t fundamentally change Change always produces less of something People who implement change are good and those who resist are bad Older people can’t change, they are set in their ways Change always causes loss, anxiety, stress and overwhelm Effectiveness and efficiency are decreased when changes are implemented

It’s important to create environments where these myths are discussed openly as a process for learning. Open examination in a safe environment for learning produces enlightenment and brings myths out of the darkness into an arena of understanding and learning. This produces emotional strength and fortitude in people which are necessary ingredients for growing human potential and protecting the human spirit.

In the second part of this series, we will examine the traditions of change and how past interpretations inhibit our ability to be flexible during transition.

Maria Harrison is a professional certified life coach. She is certified as a Core Energy Life and Ontological (The Power of Language) Coach by The Newfield Network and ICF, is a Reiki Master, certified EFT and Prosperity Guide.

Maria offers transformational principles and tools as a foundation of her practice.

Maria can be reached through her website: www.tapestryoflifecoaching.com, by calling: 207 358-0311 or email: maria@tapestryoflifecoaching.com.

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INNER TAPESTRY's Directory of Resources Holistic Practitioners, Products and Resources Each category contains practitioners from various states. a l t e r n a t i v e livin g

counseling & the rapy

Maine Greensward Hamlet

Alternative Living .................................................. page 33 Counseling & Therapy ................................... pages 33-34 Creative Healing Arts ..................................... pages 34-35 Evolutionary Consciousness................................. page 35 Holistic Healing Centers ...................................... page 35 Holistic Publications & Radio ............................... page 35 Hypnotherapy ...................................................... page 35 Integrative Healing ........................................ pages 36-37 Life Mastery ......................................................... page 37 Living Spaces ...................................................... page 37 Meditation ............................................................ page 37 Psychic & Spiritual Mediumship ........................... page 38 Reflexology & Healing Massage .......................... page 38 Retreats ......................................................... pages 38-39 Schools & Trainings .............................................. page 39 Shamanic Healing ................................................ page 40 Writing Services.................................................... page 40 Yoga, Tai Chi & Meditation ................................... page 41

Maine

Greensward Hamlet A Cohousing Community In Buxton, Maine Drawing on the Strength of Community To Live Sustainably.

your place in the community now. Visit www.greenswardhamlet.com or www.cohousing.org. Or contact: Françoise Paradis, Ed.D. PO Box 1325, Saco, Me 04072 (207) 227-3678.

Holistic Psychotherapy & Spiritual Development Work "When we are fully present to ourselves the light of who we are shines through and like a slow deep breath, fills the world with love." -PB

In over twenty-five years of experience I have merged a variety of psychological, sensate awareness, spiritual and creative practices into a process of deep awakening that can help you heal trauma, addictions and depression, rediscover meaning and purpose in life, build mutually empowering relationships, enhance creativity and embrace the deep stillness of being from within in which all experience arises. I have been deeply engaged in my own inner work for over twenty years and call upon my extensive training in spiritual and transformational practices to guide my work with others. I offer individual, group and couples consultation, personal intensives, workshops, supervision and training. Offices in West Baldwin & Yarmouth, ME, (207) 625-7012, pab@patriciaburke.com, www.patriciaburke.com.

cou ns e l i ng & t h e r apy Connecticut Introspective Psychotherapy & Life Counseling

Live From Your Center

Licensed Professional Counselor

Mark Nakell, LCPC

Jim Govoni

M.A.Ed., S.Y.C., R.Y.T., L.P.C.

"There is a crack, a crack in everything, that' s how the light gets in, That's how the light gets in." ...Leonard Cohen

The seed for growth is often in our shadow self and addressing what hides inside us can be knowingly and unconsciously scary. The therapeutic process necessitates a willingness to address acceptance of our shadow, embrace the totality of who we are and to make change, if necessary.

I promise to provide you with the safe harbor of objectivity, warmth, respect, honesty, empathy and positive regard to explore the issues you wish to bring forth. Remember your Life has its own Story to tell and the right to be heard.

The telling of your Story may be done in the security and convenience of your home or at my home/office.

Licensed Professional Counselor Since 1994. Professional Affiliations: Connecticut Association For Jungian Psychology (Board Member) Connecticut Counseling Association Connecticut Mental Health Counseling Association Yoga Alliance-Registered Yoga Teacher 17 Parker Road, Marlborough, CT 06447, (860) 295-6491 or email:jagovoni@comcast.net

Awareness-based Psychotherapy Growth and Self-Realization Individual & Couples Counseling All of life happens in the present moment: Our natural condition is an

open awareness of each moment as it occurs. Increased awareness of this moment—now—and of yourself in the moment, provides an increased experience of life, more joy, and greater fulfillment. Developing the capacity of your own center enables a deeper, more immediate experience of your aliveness and presence now. The result is increased freedom—freedom of choice, freedom of action, freedom of purpose—and deepened participation in the events of your own life. For a FREE introductory session, call (207) 773-4413 or email mnakell@openawareness.com, 25 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101. Further information can be found at www.openawareness.com.

Leap and the net will appear. ... J. Cameron and Renay Allen's email signature

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 33

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Maine’s first Green, fossil free, cohousing community is nestled on 30 private country acres. Your 1-, 2-, or 3- bedroom home (& 1- or 2- car garage) will include the amenities of a spacious Common House for weekly community meals & gatherings; organic community gardens and nature trails. Access to the Saco River and hundreds of acres of pristine park land is within walking distance.

Train and international airport services are just a 15-minute drive. Reserve

Patricia A. Burke, MSW, LCSW

34 co u n s e l i ng & t h e rapy- c o n t .

counseling & the rapy- cont.

What is somatic therapy?

Somatic therapy is a self-awareness process with a particular focus on the body. With guided practice to help you remain present in the body, you simply allow thoughts, emotions and sensations to emerge in their natural patterns. This combination – conscious awareness and observation of patterns – allows both increased capability of self-regulation and expanded capacity for awareness itself. Current brain research shows that the part of the brain involved in awareness also regulates emotions and behavior. So practice Douglas Smith of focused awareness actually strengthens and expands the brain cell connections in this area, making the benefit of this work cumulative. The difference between this and mindfulness practice alone is that you also have access to somatic, or body reactions. These come under conscious awareness, creating the possibility of physical as well as emotional healing. Somatic therapy is useful for the resolution of stress and trauma, anxiety, depression, habits, addictions, "stuck" patterns, or can be used to enhance personal growth. For an appointment or more information please call, email or visit me on the web at www.mindmeetsbody.com.

Douglas Smith, LCPC, SEP., 440 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101 (207) 329-3566, smith@mindmeetsbody.com.

Gestalt Your Life Angela Hassenpflug Body-Mind Life Coaching Specialist

TM

Gestalt Practitioner This experiential and body-oriented approach supports you to

- - - - -

reconnect with your body, its language and wisdom learn to relax, reduce stress and practice being fully present enhance your relationships, both with yourself and others reinforce your strengths, passions and skills make sustainable life changes happen

Dynamic life coaching tools combined with Gestalt Therapy elements build the foundation of this life coaching approach. We can meet in person or on the phone. Groups offered on a regular basis. Call (207) 592-7888 or email angela@gestaltyourlife.com for more information and to set up a free introductory call. www.gestaltyourlife.com.

creative healing arts Maine Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

A healthy functioning brain is crucial to your everyday cognitive, psychological, AND physical well-being. At Maine Neurotherapy

Center, we provide EEG Neurofeedback utilizing cutting edge techniques and equipment, without the use of medication, to help you achieve your goals. Neurotherapy is a powerful tool which involves exercising and training the brain to function better, manage anxiety and stress better, and improve overall day-to-day cognitive ability. We believe our clients deserve choices in care – whether that involves state-of-the-art neurofeedback or other traditional therapies. We provide both. In addition, we will work collaboratively with your current providers to develop a tailored neurofeedback program that works for you. For more information contact us at www.MaineNeurotherapy.com., 1051 Washington Ave, Suite 2, Portland, Maine 04103. E-mail: MaineNeurotherapy@gmail.com.

Nancy C. Campbell, LCSW (207) 650-9728

Sandra E. Couch Kelly, LCSW (207) 233-3469

Prana Regina Barrett, BS, MIA, ERYT, CYT Life Coaching, Spiritual Counseling and Therapeutic Yoga

Private Sessions Workshops Retreats Portland, Maine ~ World Wide Old traumas or wounds are released from the body and clients leave each session feeling lighter and more empowered.

Prana has assisted 1,000s of people to transform & heal addictions, anxiety, panic attacks, physical and sexual abuse, accident trauma, chronic illness, injuries, pre & post natal, cancer, fibromylagia, vertigo, perimenopause, surgery recovery and more!

Visit www.pranaheals.com, (207) 632-6698.

34 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

Art Therapy & Shamanism

Susan Bakaley Marshall, ATR-BC, LCPC Art therapy is a dynamic combination—powerful artistic creation with the insight of psychotherapy.

Art therapy and shamanic counselling will help you cultivate your strengths like a gardener tending plants.

Together we can use imagination to design the garden.

We can learn to tell flowers from weeds when your spirit is overgrown. Then we can plant seeds, nurture and water them and reap a new harvest. Everyone has an artist within. Our spirit and soul speak through the artwork. The art never lies; it gently reflects back those areas of life that need our attention, promoting positive change and healing on all levels.

The best way to walk into your future is to create it! Board Certified Art Therapist, Licensed Clinical Counselor, Shamanic Practitioner with over thirty years experience. The Thirteenth Moon Center, "ART from the heART," www.thirteenthmooncenter.net, (207) 589-3063. moonarts@gmail.com.

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.

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holistic healing centers -cont.

Vermont LEDGE END RETREAT & NATURE HEALING CENTER At Ledge End we offer private and group retreats to enable you to reconnect with yourself, your breath and the natural world.

Primary practice at Ledge End is based on the principles of Zen Yoga. Zen Yoga blends Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation and Qigong together to encourage energy flow through the body. Programs include day workshops, classes and weekend retreats. We customize our programs to meet the needs of each group or individual. Set on 150 acres of pristine woodland and rock ledge we offer the opportunity to withdraw from the busy world and cultivate an inner space. In addition to our Zen Yoga Instructor Training Program we also offer a 12-week online course that provides time honored spiritual teachings designed to assist anyone on their personal journey of self-discovery. For more information: Phone: (802) 685-4448, Email breathe@artofzenyoga.com, Website: www.artofzenyoga.com

evolutionary consciousness

the awake collective

We are a co-creative community platform in support of awakening. We offer massage,

hands-on healing, classes, workshops, yoga, dance, and space rental. It is our intention to create a supportive and nourishing space for our collective awakening. You're invited to come to events, enjoy our healing arts services, or rent space at the collective as a micro-enterprise, teacher, or practitioner. We value creating accessibility and sustainability within our community so we have made a commitment to providing affordable high quality healing arts services. We offer all of our basic services, like massage and life coaching at only $40 an hour. We also offer membership and monthly massage packages that will save you even more on our services. If you are wanting to create a conscious work space for your practice or you want to experience some of our services, then you should check out our website and join us in co-creating this amazing awakening. www.theawakecollective.com info@theawakecollective.com 207-318-1931, 79 Vesper St., Portland, Maine. Stay connected FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Awake-Collective/ 102331896486384?ref=ts

holistic publications & radio

M a i ne Norm and Skye Hirst co-founders Transcendental Autognomics (TA); going beyond scientific materialism to discover the emergent epi-principles within lifeitself... doing science the old fashion way.

TA; New Field of Life-Energy and Transcendental Science/Philosophy is based on emergent epi-energy principles now being discovered throughout the Autognomics Research Community and Alliance. The mystery/the miraculous/ the wisdom of life-itself is revealing herself. To receive our email newsletter on how latest revelations are impacting us all, visit us at www.autognomics.org or join us on Twitter @autognomics for frequent tips and insights plus see who we are following. Co-founders – Norm and Skye Hirst, PhD.

holistic healing centers

WRFR-LP is all-volunteer community radio, on the air at 93.3 FM in Rockland and 99.3 FM in Camden, and streaming world-wide at www.wrfr.org.

We offer a wide selection of live and recorded music, and a wide variety of talk shows. Music genres include jazz, old time swing, classical, country, folk, Celtic, South Seas exotica, classic rock, heavy metal, Broadway tunes, and more. Many shows feature live music with local guests. Talk shows range from news and public affairs discussions to live tarot readings, and often include live interviews and telephone call-ins.

The station is supported by listener contributions and by business sponsors.

Contact Jo Lindsay, volunteer coordinator, to learn more about how you can participate: info@wrfr.org. Contact Ananur Forma, sales manager, to learn more about business sponsorship: (207) 594-2565 WRFR's studios are located at 20 Gay Street, Rockland, Maine 04841.

You are invited to stop by.

hypnotherapy

M a i ne Gardens of Atlantis Healing Arts Center Welcome to a New Year of Hope, Growth and Positive Manifestations! Changing how you look at Life is

key to making the kinds of change that bring true joy and self-awareness.

We cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results. Let us help you experience something new, expansive and fun! Our March 20th Equinox Energy Event will introduce you to a variety of ways to change your perspective and shift your vibration to create positive results. Get your Energy Moving, Visualize your Creations, Focus your Intention on what you want to Manifest in this New Year. On February 5th, reconnect with Mother Earth and Community with Grandmother Maka Nupa's class, "The 7 Sacred Hoops."

Join us! (207) 929-5088, www.gardensofatlantis.org.

Main e 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.

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 35

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The Autognomics Institute since 1992

Main e

36 integrative healing Connecticut

Belanger Physical Therapy A neck or back doesn't walk into the office, a whole person does and all their history as well. What we do not

choose to express emotionally will show itself in our bodies through tension, pain, illness and/or dis-ease. Joe invites his clients to welcome and feel, in order to transition, the walls that keep each of us from expressing our authentic selves in the world. Everything you need for what you really desire in your life is right in front of you. All you have to do is surrender to feel what is there. Joe chooses to support people physically, emotionally and energetically through manual therapy (cranial, muscle energy, functional technique, myofascial release), a deep belief in osteopathic philosophy, and heart.

Marlborough, CT (860) 295-0572, or e-mail Joe at joeb.pt@snet.net.

Connecticut & Maine

Ron and Joan

integrative healing–cont.

Main e Roberta Barnes, CHT, Gendai Reiki-ho & Komyo Reiki Shihan (teacher/master) & Herbalist Gendai Reiki-ho brings balance and harmony to mind/body/spirit, and all areas of your life. Roberta teaches and

practices as she learned from her Japanese Reiki Shihans, each of whom has only 2 Shihans between themselves and Mikao Usui, the founder of Usui Reiki. Roberta has practiced various forms of natural healing for over 30 years. Her Natural Healing & Learning Center, nestled in a wildlife habitat in Windsor, Maine, is the perfect environment to reflect the balancing and harmonizing essence of Mikao Usui’s spiritual practice.

Encased in harmonizing relaxation, you can... *Learn Japanese styles of Reiki, *Experience Reiki healing sessions, *Learn inward or outward meditation, *Receive a personalized herb report, or *Experience a healing journey into your past. Roberta schedules classes to meet individual needs and travels out-of-State to teach groups. Roberta’s guided meditations are available on CDs. View scheduled classes at www.naturalhealinglearning.com or call (207) 445-5671 today to register for classes or healing sessions.

Are You Listening? Through the challenges of our lives

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we are being asked to release what no longer serves us; to expand, living with an open mind and heart. Are You Willing? To embody the Truth of living your life as love in action. Ron and Joan support people to live the highest/greatest vision of themselves. Living Visions is a method of support that deepens levels of calm and joy, releasing the causes of emotional and physical trauma, which increases awareness of your true center and grounding. Living Visions is a way of realizing perfect union with one's self.

If you are interested in exploring how we may be able to support you please visit www.ronandjoan.com, or call us at (207) 799-7998/(203) 779-0345 with questions or for more information. Sessions and groups available in Connecticut and Maine (call Leapin' Lizards for schedule in ME (207) 865-0900)

"There is more hunger for Love and Acceptance in the world today than there is for bread." (Mother Teresa).

Lilysongbird Healing Jewelry, Sunsets & Flowers, etc.

A Healing Session includes, Reiki, Integrated Energy

Therapy, Stones & Crystals, Chakra Balancing, Angel Work, Mediumship, Psychic Messages, Animal Guides, Flower Guides, Cord-Cutting. It is followed by a reading and write-up.

Selling many stones and crystals in the office location and at outside events. Jewelry is made from beaded stones for their healing properties and is available in gold-filled & sterling silver. Earrings, Bracelets, Pendants/Necklaces.

Photos are derived intuitively. Available in greeting cards, matted & framed prints.

Learn Reiki and help yourself and others kickstart your body's ability to help heal itself. Now teaching all levels including Master/Teacher. Beginning I am now teaching Integrated Energy Therapy as an IET Master.

Fern Dyer, Reiki/Master Teacher, Advanced IET Practioner Call (207) 415-8638, fdyer@maine.rr.com, www.lilysongbird.com located in Portland.

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.

Peaceful Energies Balance your Energetic Body, Physical Body, Emotions and Spirit As a certified MCKS Pranic Healer, I balance your body’s energetic system by intuitively sensing and removing stagnant, diseased energy and strengthening depleted energy with specific healing frequencies and techniques. All aspects of your being are treated: energetic,

physical, emotional and spiritual. Treatment sessions offer blissful stress relief, alleviation of pain, and support in the healing of acute and chronic health complaints. Treatments are equally effective in person and at a distance. No distance is too far to receive a totally effective treatment. Pranic healing supports traditional and alternative healing methods. Contact: Miriam Smith at mgsenergy@comcast.net or (978) 683-6129. www.PranicHealingNE.com.

Directory of Resources Listings are easy to compose.

Write as though you are speaking to others about the work you do and the services you offer.

For more information call: (207) 799-7995/(203) 779-0345 or email: info@innertapestry.org 36 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

37 integrative healing–cont.

life mastery -cont.

Jen Deraspe, MS

Susan Ortiz, MD Board Certified Physical Medicine & Pain Management Medical Acupuncture & Energy Medicine Mind-Body Medicine Are you living up to your full potential? If you have joint, muscle, spinal pain, headaches, sleep problems, mood disorders, gastrointestinal issues, stress, fatigue or other troubling symptoms, you do not have to settle for ineffective or toxic treatments.

After 20 years of medical practice, I know that a combination of traditional Western and Alternative methods is usually the best form of medicine.

Having studied many different styles of healing over the years, I combine them with the latest in nutrition, movement and mind sciences to improve your health, function and vitality. Stillpoint Rehabilitation & Wellness, 15 State St., Bangor, ME 04401. Stillptrehab@gmail.com, (207) 990-2934, www.stillpointrehab.com.

Massachusetts

intuitive HEALING

"As a healer, I work with individuals in a way that consciously promotes a peaceful and healthy planet. Our

wlm922@wendymarks.com.

life mastery Maine

I spent my life searching for truth and happiness outside of myself. All served me on the path, and I am

grateful. Because my seeking path was more external, I experienced only temporary relief. What ultimately led me home was the simplest of methods, The Work of Byron Katie. It is a direct, no non-sense path to personal truth, clarity and freedom held within and no teacher is required. I have been humbled and opened through my own personal inquiry into the source of my stress, fear and internal war with what is. If you are seeking sustained peace and to experience lasting wellbeing, you are invited to join me on an invigorating journey back to you. The tools used are customized for your individual plan and include The Work, Hatha yoga, meditation, holistic nutrition, lifetime fitness and wellness programming. It would be a privilege to be your guide. I am happy to offer a complimentary phone consultation if you are interested in the possibility of working together. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929, ntnretreat@yahoo.com

living spaces Maine

We create an energetically clear and vibrant living environment in your home or office. A session removes stagnant and traumatic energy, cuts

emotional cords no longer beneficial, balances geopathic stressors, and removes harmful nonphysical beings. Co-creating with the Devic Kingdom, land, and with the expanded consciousness of owners, residents, and pets we remotely scan all areas to clear and remedy as necessary. Our clients have reported that a clearing has helped them to sell or rent their home, to emotionally let go of past relationships, and to be more at ease in their living space. Let us support your intention for the change you desire in your life! For more information please visit: www.GoldenRayEnergetics.com/Clearing.php or call (207) 892-0221.

Ocean of Possibilities Life Coaching Deborah Bergeron, CPCC, Certified Life Coach, Prosperity Guide

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 coaching session or schedule of workshops call (207) 797-9007 or email: debcoaches@aol.com. Phone sessions available. www.oceanofpossibilities.com.

meditation Maine

Sant Mat Radhaswami, The Path of the Masters The Maine Sant Mat Society presents the Enlightenment Experience as taught by Sant Sevi Ji Maharaj of Bihir, India,

a series of free lectures, meditations and satsangs around Maine facilitated by James Bean, a local representative of the Sant Mat tradition of Inner Light & Sound Meditation known as Surat Shabd Yoga, in the lineage of Tulsi Sahib.

For More Information call (207) 358-9381, or email: James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com, Website: www.SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com/santmat.

"I do not understand the mystery of grace --

only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us."

- Anne Lamott

Kari Luehman email signature

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 37

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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,

Certified Coach; The Institute for The Work, Holistic Personal Trainer, Retreat Facilitator

38 psychic & spiritual mediumship Maine PsychicMediumship, Hypnotherapy

Bonnie Lee Gibson is a professional Psychic Medium, Hypnotherapist, Registered Counselor, Reiki Master, healer, teacher and lecturer with thirty years of experience. She

resides in Fairfield and Northport, Maine.

Her first experience with Spirit was at the age of four. She has connected many people with loved ones who have crossed over, as well as their angels and spirit guides. Bonnie Lee communicates with pets, both here and on the spirit side. She gives spirit readings all over the world by telephone and travels in the US and Canada.

Services include: Hypnotherapy, Psychic Mediumship Readings, Gallery Readings, Workshops, Classes and Lectures, Reading Circles and Private Groups in the comfort of your home. Call (207) 453-6133, cell (207) 649-7089, spirit@bonnielee.net, www.bonnielee.net, and www.hypno.us.

retreats Maine The knowledgeable and experienced practitioners at The Wellness Center offer a full spectrum of holistic, traditional and alternative techniques.

Enjoy engaging seminars that will flex your intellect. Join a movement class to tone your heart and spirit.

Experience the skillful touch of artists sensitive to the subtle thread of muscle and mind. Freshen your outward glow from head to toe. For more information about ongoing programs, upcoming seminars and suite availability, please call (207) 465-4490 or visit us on the Wellness page at VillageSoup.com. The Wellness Center, 69 & 71 Elm Street, Camden, ME 04843.

Kat Logan

Intuitive Readings and Healing

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• Intuitive Readings (personal, group, parties, phone or email) • Energy Healing (also offering... Sound, Aromatherapy & Flower Essences) • Sacred Space Design for home and garden • Dowsing and Space Clearing Intuitively aware since childhood Kat has been offering readings and energy work for over 25 years. As a spiritual medium, empath and clairvoyant she lovingly brings the messages from the Divine Energies that are resonating with you, to assist you on your life's journey. My work is not to tell you your future but to intuitively counsel you of the many potentials that are resonating with you.

You have the personal power and will to create the life you want. I want to assist you in that process. I also offer sliding scale fee schedules if money is a problem. Kat also offers other services such as Sacred Space Design, Intuitive Art Work, Medicinal Herbal Teas and Flower Essences.

Rolling Meadows, a 100 acre rural retreat center in Brooks over-looking the hills of coastal Maine, two hours north of Portland, offering silent residential retreats for the purpose of nourishing—awakening to Awareness.

Patricia Brown and Surya Chandra Das have been teaching for 30 years and are the resident teachers offering guidance in meditation, yoga and the direct path of self-inquiry. Students are supported to open and be present for whatever is arising and to recognize the ever-available nature of Presence when we are simply here as we are in each moment. Intimate small group experience. Retreats are scheduled thru the year in Maine and in the winter months in Mexico and Guatemala. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.

For more information, please check the website: www.mygreatfullheart.com or email: kat@mygreatfullheart.com. Kat is located in Friendship, Maine. Telephone (207) 226-7446.

reflexology & healing massage Maine Hands on Feet ~ Lynn Danforth, Certified Reflexologist Reflexology is a science-based, non-invasive method to rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit.

The deep relaxation found through this wonderful technique comes through the delicate manipulation of nerve centers in your feet and hands to send messages to the brain, which in turn sends the signals to the rest of your body. Many find the experience to result in a meditative, cleansing state, which can last days. Problem areas and issues are easily and gently relieved and reduced, from plantar fasciitis and arthritis to basic tension and foot pain.

Don't force yourself to stress another minute, contact Lynn today: call either (207) 767-5776 or (207) 318-0129, or visit www.handsonfeet.net.

Sewall House Yoga Retreat Enjoy yoga twice daily, meditation, massage, sauna and healthy home-cooked vegetarian cuisine. Near pristine lakes

and Baxter State Park, hike, bike, swim, canoe, kayak or simply porch sit! Five days suggested, weekends, shorter and longer stays arranged. Step back into time in the comfort of this bed and breakfast style retreat listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

Nature guide William Sewall shared the healing attributes of nature with a young Theodore Roosevelt, who restored his health from life-threatening asthma here. The tradition continues since 1997 with William Sewall's great granddaughter, yoga instructor Donna Davidge, with over 25 years experience in the healing arts, and her Swedish husband, musician and chef Kent Bonham. Experience the friendly hospitality Sewall House has always offered.

Sewall House Yoga Retreat Island Falls, Maine www.sewallhouse.com.

(888) 235-2395 Open All Year, prearranged retreats available upon request.

“We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” ...Lucretius 38 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

39 schools & trainings-cont.

retreats-cont.

This land is a living resource! The 24 blessed

acres on which “Forest Circles” is located continues to provide visitors with uniquely personal mystical experiences. Overnight solo retreats in the forest are popular. Come for a gathering in a peaceful inside space, a program around the sacred fire pit or a walk. All are invited to experience this parcel of Earth that is eager to communicate and teach you how to find your way back to your heart. At Forest Circles we offer programs which include: multi-cultural spiritual ceremonies, classes for enhancing one’s connection to Earth and inner self, solo and group retreats, classes on native medicinal plants andchildren’s programs. Strongheart Healing with Regina Strongheart is featured at the retreat center. Self-Retrieval” is a technique developed by Regina that helps you reclaim your personal power and peace. Using healing energy, shamanic journeying and medical intuition, Regina will assist you in finding health and peace. Regina Strongheart has an MA in education from UNH and experiences including 29 years teaching high school chemistry, 8 years in the medical field and 14 years as a spiritual healer and teacher. She is the owner of “Forest Circles,” Topsham, Me.( 207) 776-3152, www.forestcircles.com.

schools & trainings

Treat Your Feet

A Very Rewarding Career ~ Nurturing your physical Nervous System through reflex points found within your feet & hands.

Learn about a specific touch technique of applying pressure, using your thumb and fingers, to reflex points of the feet and hands that relate to other parts of the body.

Reflexology is credited with improving circulation and reducing body stress, which

removes blockages along the nerve pathways what we call Zones. A 250-hour certification course for School of Reflexology $3,300 to learn Reflexology and its Application.

Cost includes two Reflexology chairs, all required reading books, foot, hand charts, footbath items & much more.

For a reflexology session, call Denise Johnson in Rockland at (207) 701-1028.

For more information, call Board Certified Foot & Hand Reflexologist Myra Achorn, Augusta (207) 626-FEET. Classes start in February & September, www.treatyourfeet.com.

Licensed by the State of Maine Department of Education.

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.

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 2011

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

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.”

Di recto r y of R es our c e s $375 for 1 year Print & Online Listing with an active link to your website!

Includes 2.8 inch ad space, (approximately 130 words) Initial set-up fee $20

Online listing (without print copy) with an active link to your website. $100 plus an Initial set-up fee of $20

Call 207-799-7995 or 203-779-0345 email: info@innertapestry.org Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 39

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Maine

Yokids

40 shamanic healing

writing services

Maine Spirit Passages Allie Knowlton, MSW, DCSW & Evelyn Rysdyk Spirit Passages is the partnership of nationally recognized shamanic teacher/healers, Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of Modern Shamanic Living: New Explorations of an Ancient Path and C. Allie Knowlton, MSW, DCSW. Whether through powerful heart-to-heart contact with individual patients or with workshop groups and conference participants—Evelyn’s & Allie’s extensive experience ensures you of safe shamanic healing encounters, as well as opportunities to train in shamanism with confidence. They are committed to help you increase your personal power, feel your intrinsic sacredness and expand your connections to All That Is! www.spiritpassages.com.

Connecticut

Grow Your Business You need professionally written advertorials, ads, interviews, reviews and web content that align who you are and what you do with your target audience.

A professional writer saves you time and gets you and your business in print.

Ghostwriting: articles, books, columns, advertorials and more Freelance Work: feature articles, interviews, book reviews, web content Coaching: guidance and insight for your own writing Published in local, regional and national print and digital media Portfolio: www.KarenMRider.com Email: KarenMRider@comcast.net

phone: (860) 638-8140

Maine D O R Y C OTE

…Follow the Path to Your Own True Essence. At

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

the core of my shamanic healing practice is the belief that we have the capacity to be whole, stable and functioning at our highest potential. My healing space is safe, quiet and nourishing. I regularly perform soul retrievals, communicate with the spirits of deceased loved ones and facilitate healing the numerous wounds of life in the 21st century. I have completed a Three-Year The Center for Program in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Earth Light Healing Healing with the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and other intensive trainings, including experiences with indigenous shamans from around the world. I graduated from a Two-Year Teacher Training Program with world-renowned shaman, Sandra Ingerman.

I work with adults, couples, animals & specialize in working with gifted, autistic, aspergers, sensitive and ADHD children.

Please see my workshop schedule or make an appointment at www.earthlighthealing.com, email me at dory@dorycote.com, or call (207) 841-1215.

The Village Scribe The Wellness Center, Camden, Maine

207.344.7070

TheVillageScribe@hotmail.com

Communicate your authentic message.

Writing and Editing services for the Creative and Holistic communities.

Original Copy for: Ads ~ Business cards ~ Brochures Articles ~ Memoirs ~ Websites Writing Workshops Creative Writing ~ Memoir ~ Mythic Structure Ducktrap Writers' Round Table ~ Supporting writers in their craft.

Camden Public Library, third Sundays, 2:00pm-4:00pm $15.

Custom crafted words that represent who you are and what you do.

Pacha Works

Holding New Possibilities.

Working with traditional shamanistic practices for healing.

Eva Rose Goetz, director

"Healing is a collaboration. I love working with people privately or with groups. By working together we remove energies that may be in the way of our coming into wholeness and balance." Eva Rose Goetz: BFA University of Texas

at Austin, MS Ed. Bank Street College NYC, Medicine Wheel Training with Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. and Lisa Summerlott. Certified In Light Body Medicine with Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. Core Shamanism with Evelyn Rysdyk and Allie Knowlton. Eva gratefully continues her studies with indigenous medicine people in Peru, New Mexico, Canada, Africa and Mexico. Eva hosts workshops, leads ceremonies and has a private Shamanic Energy Practice in Falmouth, Maine. A new 16-month course in beginning Shamanism begins June 2010. More information about classes, private sessions, or ceremonies can be found at www.pachaworks.com or contact Eva directly at (207) 756-0488. "When working with intention

and holding the blessed energy of gratitude, with spirit's help, energy moves.

A door opens and new possibilities are now available."

We begin to save the world, one person at a time...

That person is ourself ~ then everyone we touch.

40 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

41

Yoga, T'ai Chi & Meditation Listings Six issues in print costs $160 for 35 words plus logo.

Online placement in the Directory of Resources with a direct link to your website for an additional $75.

Please call: (207) 799-7995 / (203) 779-0345 or Email: info@innertapestry.org.

Yoga ~ T'ai Chi ~ Meditation Connecticut

Radiant Yoga Offering all level group classes, private sessions, workshops and yoga hikes. Classes are a blending of styles with attention to alignment, fluid movement, pranayama (breathing), and relaxation. Erin McGuire, RYT. Check us out on facebook at Radiant Yoga, CT - Life Illuminated, call (860) 267-6388 or email radiantyoga@sbcglobal.net.

Maine DENMARK, GREATER BRIDGTON LAKES REGION Nurture Through Nature's Donation Based Yoga Center Our intention is to offer the gift of yoga in a sacred space, supporting healing, restoration and healthy active movement. We offer weekly, quality classes in a beautiful, natural setting. Design your own healing yoga retreat. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929, getaway@ntnretreats.com,.

Midcoast Maine Wicked Good Yoga

Awaken your own personal power with heart pumping Baptiste inspired power vinyasa yoga. Become lighter as you shift your energy, peeling away layers of physical, mental, and emotional toxins. Our studio (with changing rooms and showers) is conveniently located off Route 1 in Wiscasset at the Snow Squall Inn. Daily classes are all levels and drop ins are welcomed. Massage is also available by appointment. New Baby and Me classes. Thursday mornings 10:30am-11:30. Website: www.wickedgoodyoga.com. We are also on Facebook or call us at (207) 882-6892.

SOUTH PORTLAND Sadhana The Meditation Center Sadhana now offers a full program of yoga at 6:30am and 9:30am, noon and 5:30pm Monday through Friday, as well as special weekend yoga workshops (see Calendar of Events and Sadhana website for details). A monthly yoga pass is available for $79. www.SadhanaMe.com; (207) 772-6898; info@ SadhanaMe.com; 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland, ME

WINDHAM www.ReDefiningYogaandPilates.com

GLASTONBURY

In the hustle of this modern day, technologically, media manic world, there is a place of balance.

Yoga, Pilates, Massage, Nutrition, Reiki and Community.

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.

Article submission deadline for April/May issue "Emergence"

is February 15th Please send articles to info@innertapestry.org

725 Roosevelt Trail, (207) 892-0964.

Calendar and classified listings submission deadline for April/May issue is March 5th Time flies don't forget!

Please send your formatted Calendar and Classified listings to info@innertapestry.org

We Hope You Enjoy reading this issue of Inner Tapestry!

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 41

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EAST HAMPTON, HEBRON, MIDDLE HADDAM & MOODUS

Yoga ~ T'ai Chi ~ Meditation-cont.

42

Calendar and Classified

Guidelines And Advertising Rates Are Located on Page 44

H eart V isions

Spring 2011 Spirit Passages' Shamanic Initiatory Training Program

FMI: see the ad on page 24, or visit www.spiritpassages.com, (207) 846-6829.

May 22nd-29th Assisi, Italy ~ Remembering Your Sacred Work Know the wisdom of St. Clare and St. Francis and the sacred silence of the stones of Assisi with Megan Don. www.mysticpeace.com.

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June 13th-22nd Pilgrimage to Ireland ~ Exploring the Divine Feminine July 15th-24th Pilgrimage to Ireland ~ Living As An Elder with Megan Don, www.mysticpeace.com.

September 11th-17th Pilgrimage to Avila ~ Knowing Your Spiritual Self-Worth with Megan Don, www.mysticpeace.com

May 2012 Glastonbury, England Experience the healing waters of the Chalice Well, bringing harmony to your well being. With Megan Don www.mysticpeace.com.

February~Connecticut February 6th, Sunday, 1:00pm-3:00pm 16th Annual Open House Come join us as we meet new friends and connect with old ones! Enjoy the afternoon with Chinese Teas and Snacks for All. We will discuss the many classes and ideas CIHS has to offer this year. A 10% early registration discount will be given on Program paid in full today. Free. Connecticut Institute for Herbal Studies, 900 Wells Road (Rt 175), Wethersfield, Ct 06109, (860) 666-5064 ~ www.CTHerbschool.com.

February 17th, Thursday, 6:30pm-8:30pm Ancient Teas of China Laura Mignosa, NCCH $26.00 additional $4.00 if sample of herbs provided. Explore some of the thousand-year-old teas (or decoctions) that were used to maintain a strong body and help us to transition from childhood to old age. We will discuss how teas used in these ways are as important today as they were for the people and emperors’ going back 5000 years.

Let's weave a web of history from our 1st doctors and monks to find how we came to know the importance of staying well thru all seasons using just 8 herbs/foods & teas that can easily be made into 4 different formulas. Connecticut Institute for Herbal Studies, 900 Wells Road (Rt 175) Wethersfield, Ct 06109, (860) 666-5064 ~ www.CTHerbschool.com.

February 20th, 2:00pm–4:00pm Shamanic Apprenticeship – Free Introduction Discover these time-tested methods for self-actualization. A 15-month program. Based on the teachings and cosmology of the Q’ero Shamans of Peru. Includes rites of initiation and the creation of a “Mesa” (medicine body). East Haddam. www.susansfinesalon.com. Maia Lynd (203) 543-5670, www.CelebrateYourLight.com.

Send all listings to info@innertapestry.org 42 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

Februar y ~ Maine February 5th, 12:00pm-5:00pm Reiki I Certification with Master Heather Investment is $144; Includes manual & Certificate. Dancing Angels Wellness Studio ~ Oxford, Maine FMI: call (207) 240-4637 or visit www.dancingangels.us/mind.html.

February 5th, 7:00pm-9:30pm Dancing Kirtan with DJ Mantra Suggested donation $15-20. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.

February 12th, 7:00pm-9:00pm Kirtan with Jaishree and the Prema Bhakti Band Suggested donation $10-15. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com

February 13th, 10:00am-2:00pm Ayurveda and the Chakras: Secrets to Embodying Prana & Shakti with Jaishree.

Suggested donation $50. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com

February 18th and 25th, 7:00pm-9:00pm Friday night Kirtans with Ben Fowler and Richard Davis, respectively. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com

February 19th & 26th, 9:00am-4:00pm, Saturdays Karuna® 1 & 2 Practioner Workshops: Karuna-Compassion in Sanskrit. Learn Karuna symbols and their uses, toning with symbols, giving treatments, and much more. Ample practice time. Must have completed Reiki III. FMI: Yvonne Thibodeau, Sophia’s Wisdom at (207) 356-2662.

February 20th from 10:00am-noon Therapeutics: A Blend of Tantra Yoga, Qi Gong and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy with Prana Regina Barrett. Fee: $20 by Feb. 13, $25 thereafter. Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI: (207) 772-6898 or www.SadhanaMe.com.

February 25th-27th Raghunath of NYC, Satsang & Asana Intensives At Bhava Yoga School, 496 Congress St, 2nd Floor, Portland, Me. For more info www.bhavayogaschool.com, (603) 937-1163.

February 25th-27th Yoga in Winter's Quiet

February 27th, 9:00am-noon Crystal Vortices to Transport You to Ancient Egypt A unique meditative experiential Playshop! Details: TheWayToBalance.com. $40, (978) 834-0341.

February 27th, 1:30pm-4:30pm Saqqara: The Andromeda Connection The Saqqara Step Pyramid and Complex in Egypt are a focal point for re-discovering who we are, where we came from, and why we are here. Join Aaron and Sue Singleton for this amazing multi-sensory adventure on the Andromedan light-ship!

Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341, $40.

February ~ Vermont

February 19th Tai Chi Workshop Learn the ancient art of meditation in motion. Beginners Welcome. Location: Studio Time and Space in Springfield, VT. www.studiotimeandspace.org. (802) 591-0990.

March ~ Connecticut March 5th, 1:00pm-4:00pm Dr. Judith Orloff ~ Emotional Freedom book tour West Hartford Yoga, West Hartford, CT. The Power of Emotions and Intuition to Heal, $65. To enroll: (860) 953-YOGA (9642) or http://www.westhartfordyoga.com/

March 12th, 13th & 19th, 20th, two Sats & Suns, Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory Terminology Course.

9:30am-4:30pm, May be a Stand Alone Class and the prerequisite for Chinese Herbology Program* (24 CEU) Laura Mignosa, NCCH. This is a powerful course for anyone interested in the Differential Diagnosis of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its uses today. Aroma therapists, Body workers, Massage therapists, and other wellness practitioners benefit from incorporating this holistic perspective of the human energetic systems. Through recognition of patterns, TCM describes disharmonies without diagnosing disease. By studying this material, patients of TCM practitioners can increase their understanding of the perspective of Chinese medicine, and participate more fully in their treatment. This course also serves as the foundation on which our Chinese Herbology Intensive is built upon. All our courses are taught with an emphasis on clinical diagnosis as practiced in China today. $459.00, (860) 666-5064 ~ www.CTHerbschool.com.

March ~ Maine

Nurture Through Nature's Green Retreat Center, Denmark, Maine. Immerse into nature, mindful yoga, meditation, and sacred silence. This retreat is for those who love the practice of stillness through breath, movement, surrounded in nature's winter quiet. www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929, $427 includes meals, shared eco-cabin stay and programming. Yoga is for all levels of experience.

March 5th, 7:00pm-9:00pm Kirtan with Shubalananda and Ashley Flagg

February 12th, 9:00am-noon Pyramids as Energy Frequency Generators

March 20th, 12:00pm-6:00pm Reiki II Certification with Master Heather

February~Massachusetts Transport your consciousness through space and time, as you explore amazing possibilities of the true function of the pyramids in a multi-sensory meditative healing experience.

Apply sacred geometry with net-neutral ionic technology to empower your ancient knowledge! Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341, $40.

February 12th, 1:30pm-4:30pm Temple of Isis: Initiation into the Holy of Holies Walk in the footsteps of Isis and unite with the sisterhood through 9 steps of initiation! Isis, the goddess who is Mother to all, and her great wings protect, serve and love. Awaken the Isis in you! $40. Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341.

February 26th, 9:00am-6:00pm Resolve Headaches & Migraines Learn practical, proven ways to identify and resolve the Root Cause of headaches and related tension patterns, and more! $175 (Early pay $150 by February 9th). Details: TheWayToBalance.com, (978) 834-0341.

Sadhana, the Meditation Center, 100 Brickhill Ave., South Portland. FMI: (207) 772-6898, www.SadhanaME.com

March 19th & 26th, 9:00am-4:00pm both Saturdays Usui Master workshop Learn the teaching and attunement process and symbols.

Powerful healing journey. Ample practice time. FMI: Yvonne Thibodeau, Sophia’s Wisdom at (207) 356-2662.

Investment is $181; Includes manual & Certificate. Dancing Angels Wellness Studio ~ Oxford, Maine. FMI: call (207) 240-4637 or visit www.dancingangels.us/mind.html.

March 26th, 7:00pm Kirtan with Irene Solea At Bhava Yoga School, 496 Congress Street, Portland, Maine.

For more info www.bhavayogaschool.com, (603) 937-1163.

March 26th, 10:00am-4:00pm Healing Arts & Psychic Festival Enjoy this festival of holistic health practitioners, readings from psychics and mediums, gems, jewelry, numerology, energy healing, workshops and more. $5.00 admission.

Fairfield Community Center, 61 Water Street, Fairfield, Maine (near Waterville). More information and workshop schedule on website: www.healingartsandpsychicfestival.com. (207) 314-1499.

43 March 31st - April 3rd, 2011 Healing Trauma and Loss Residential workshop with Edgebrook an organization dedicated to helping people heal from past and present loss through the externalization of emotions. At Notre Dame Spiritual Center, Alfred, ME. www.edgebrook.org. (207) 753-0135

March~Massachusetts March 12th, Saturday, 10:00am-5:00pm Psychic Development, Past Lives, & Angel Communication Workshop with Ross J. Miller, psychic healer, medium,m regression therapist. Newton, MA. To register for the workshop or to schedule a psychic or past-life reading or healing session in person or over the phone, visit our website: www.TheMysticWay.com or call Ross J. Miller (617 -527-3583.

March 12th, 9:00am-4:00pm Attain Freedom from Anxiety, Overwhelm & Worry!

An Empowering Experiential To Help Set You Free! Explore the hidden gifts of fear, stress, overwhelm, worry; Engage your anxieties to become allies; Create more beneficial bio-chemicals in your brain and body without medicine or supplements and get Tools to help in your everyday life using sound, music, meditation, hypnotherapy, aromatherapy, and Net-Neutral Ionic tools! Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341. $94

March 13th, 900am-400pm Healing at the Speed of Light: Apply Color & Light Therapy Treatments. Discover cuttingedge techniques to enhance the effectiveness of color and light therapies to heal illness, emotional issues, encourage light-body transition, and rejuvenate the body. Get answers to whether sunglasses are harmful, fluorescent lights cause skin cancer; sunscreen is helpful, and more. Learn to apply color and light therapy for health issues-at home or in your healthcare practice!

Details: TheWayToBalance.com; (978) 834-0341. $100

March ~ New York

Talk & Book Signing New York, NY, Borders Books 461 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 (Manhattan) Contact: www. borders.com/online/store/StoreDetailView_200 or (212) 980-6785.

March ~ Vermont

March 20th Vernal Equinox Ceremony Ledge End Retreat & Wellness Center, www.artofzenyoga.com, (860) 805-6551.

Upcoming ~ Maine April 3rd & 10th, 9:00am-4:00pm, both Sundays 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 II. FMI: Yvonne Thibodeau, Sophia’s Wisdom at (207) 356-2662.

April 8th, 9:00am-7:00pm - 9th, 9:00am-1:00PM Basic Pranic Healing® CEU’s for NURSES, LMT’s & LSW’s The Maine Center for Pranic Healing, Oxford, Maine. FMI: call Heather at (207) 240-4637 or visit www.dancingangels.us/mind.html.

April 9th 2:00pm-7:00pm; 10th, 9:00am-7:00pm Pranic Psychotherapy® CEU’s for NURSES, LMT’s & LSW’s The Maine Center for Pranic Healing, Oxford, Maine. FMI call Heather at (207) 240-4637 or visit www.dancingangels.us/mind.html.

April 10th-15th Look Within Silent Self Retreat/Patricia Brown Self-inquiry and meditation retreat at quiet 100-acre country sanctuary in Brooks, Maine. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.

April 29th-May 1st Continuum of Awareness/Patricia Brown Self-inquiry, meditation and yin yoga retreat at quiet 100-acre country sanctuary in Brooks, Maine. www.rollingmeadowsretreat.com, (888) 666-6412.

Sunday ~ Bhakti-Yoga Festival – 3:00pm 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.

Ongoing Reiki Offerings Individual Reiki Sessions, Crystal Healings, Reiki Shares & Classes in Eastern CT. Please call Carleen, RMT at (860) 884-3125 for more information.

Holistic Moms Network National non-profit organization for parents with an interest in holistic health and green living. Visit www.holisticmoms.org to find a local chapter.

SunDo Mountain Taoism

Have a problem with food?

Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?

There is help available in OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS! Check out oamaine.org to learn more, or call 211 for meeting times.

Authentic Movement Dance at Bath Dance Works First and third Saturdays of the month, 10:00am-1:00pm, February & March 5th and 19th, suggested donation $10, no experience is necessary. FMI: call Kay Mann (207) 725-9997 or email dancingfewl@pobox.com.

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.kirtanandyoga.com.

The Ducktrap Writers’ Round Table

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.

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.

ECKANKAR Temple of CT -- a place for all who love God.

Reiki - Healing Ways of Kennebunk

ECKANKAR, the religion of the Light and Sound of God. Worship services are the second Sunday of every month 10:00am with fellowship and refreshments afterwards.

Corner of Route. 66 and Harvestwood Rd. Middlefield, CT. (860) 346-2226; www.ct-eckankar.org.

Ongo i ng~ M aine

Etna Spiritualist Association Celebrates it's 135th Season in the summer of 2011. Please plan to join folks of all spiritual backgrounds for seminars, workshops, meditation, healing, relaxation and renewal. Camp Season runs from July through August. Affordable lodging available. More information on our website: www.campetna.com or call (207) 269-2094.

Soul Boost :: 5 Rhythms Dance with Kari Luehman Sundays in February and March, 1:00pm-2:30pm at High Mountain Hall in Camden. Dive Deep into the 5Rhythms Practice. FMI: (207) 701-9557, www.maine5rhythms.com.

Bhava Yoga School

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.

Taoist Tai Chi TM Internal Arts of Health Sustain or reclaim your good health with the Taoist Tai Chi Society® internal art of Tai Chi Chuan. In more than 25 countries around the globe, people of all ages and abilities enjoy the many benefits of practicing this art of holistic health. Classes are offered in Westbrook, Brunswick, Bridgton, Brownfield & Blue Hill. FMI: (207) 329-4346, or email: portland.me@taoist.org.

Wednesday Women’s Meditation Group All women welcome to a weekly meditation in the Greenfire tradition. Location: Newcastle, St. Andrews Parish House, Glidden St. 6:30pm–7:30pm (not on the 3rd Wednesday of the month).

For more info please call: Angela H. (207) 592-7888 or Mary A. (207) 677-3229.

Sunday Night: Portland Spiritualist Church

496 Congress St, 2nd Floor, Portland, Maine. Weekly by donation; meditation, chant, and yoga classes. For more info www.bhavayogaschool.com, (603) 937-1163.

meets at 755 Main Street, Westbrook (Mission Possible Teen Center) for 6:30pm Service, Healing Meditation, Inspirational Talk, Messages from Spirit. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.

Peace & Meditation Group - Camden/Lincolnville

Fourth Friday of each month - Gallery Readings.

Tuesdays at 6:00pm. Readings, Films & Audiotapes based on the works of H.W.L. Poonja. Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Jean Klein and other inspired teachers of Reality.

All Welcome. Contact Michael at (207) 763-3860.

Join us at the Portland Spiritualist Church, 755 Main Street, Westbrook (Mission Possible Teen Center) for an evening of messages from Spirit. 7:00pm $10 event. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.

Holistic Gatherings

Friday Night: Weekly Psychic Development

The Healing Connection Cooperative of Rumford, Maine Healing/meditation circles, Chakra balancing/cleansing Reiki, psychic games. 02/12, 03/12 from 10:00am-4:00pm Call: (207) 357-3357, www.healingconnectioncoop.webs.com.

Healing And Prayer Circle ~ Free 2nd Thursdays of each month, 7:00pm-8:30pm. Come in community to pray, meditate and send love to those who you are concerned about, or ask for healing for yourself. Open to all! Bring a goodie to share for refreshments after. Sacred Circle Studio, Friendship, Maine 04547. Contact: Kat Logan, (207) 226-7446, or email kat@mygreatfullheart.com.

Kirtan at WholeHeart Yoga Center, Portland Join us for joyful call & response chanting. We alternate between Fridays and Sundays, late afternoons/evenings.

Donations gladly accepted. www.wholeheartyoga.com or (207) 871-8274.

Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism

and Awareness Classes, except for the 4th Friday which is Gallery Readings - see above. Portland Spiritualist Church, 755 Main Street, Westbrook (Mission Possible Teen Center). Classes start at 7:30pm. Most classes are by donation. FMI call (207) 655-6673 or visit our website at www.portlandspiritualistchurch.org.

Meditation and Buddhism: Nagaloka is a spiritual community that provides space for individuals to explore and practice Buddhism. Weekly meditation sessions, retreats and introductory classes on meditation and Buddhism are scheduled regularly. Bookstore, too! www.nagalokabuddhistcenter.org, (207) 774-1545.

The New Moon Rituals with Chief Oscar Mokeme www.museumafricanculture.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.

Dharma talks, meditation, chanting, led by Geshe Gendun Gyatso (www.geshegendun.org). Thursdays 7:00pm-9:00pm at Healing Dharma Center North, 70 Stanford Street, South Portland, Maine (www.healingdharma.squarespace.com).

Contact Lorraine (207) 650-4391.

Thursday Buddhist Meditation

Dowsing For Your Health & Earth Energies Classes

ShivaShakti School of Yoga, Rockland

Offered monthly at Leapin’ Lizards in Portland and Freeport.

Learn how to use pendulums and dowsing rods. Fun! FMI: www.newenglanddowsing.com or www.leapinlizards.biz or call Paul at (207) 332-9681.

We practice Natural Wisdom and Love/Compassion and Tonglen.

All practices are for beginners and long-time practitioners, 25 Middle Street, Portland. 6:00pm-7:00pm. Jane Burdick, janeburd@maine.rr.com or (207) 773-6809.

Give yourself the gift of Yoga! Ongoing weekly classes morning and evening for all levels. Call (207) 431-8079 or visit www.ShivaShaktiYogaSchool.com.

Full Heart Community Kirtan: Chanting for Charity 3rd Saturday night monthly in Southwest Maine. Check website for details www.indigolotusyoga.com, or call Suzanne Silvermoon, (207) 831-0868.

Continued on page 44

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 43

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March 7th, Monday, 7:00-8:30pm Dr. Judith Orloff ~ Emotional Freedom Book Tour

Ongoing~Connecticut

44 Stretch, Relax and Recharge Through YOGA

Spiritual Horizons Maine Meets every other Tuesday at 7:00pm, 75 State Street, Portland. Alternate weeks group on A Course in Miracles.

Contact: Tom Peterson (207) 310-0030 or John Moulton (207) 874-7602, www.spiritualhorizonsmaine.ning.org.

Energize Sessions with Emmanuelle Chaulet TM

Stress relief, energy clearing and balancing, RYSE®.

Self-confidence, boundaries and empowerment issues.

For artists, performers, women, body workers. $80 ($70 students) Holistic Pathways, Gorham, (207) 839-9819 www.emmanuellechaulet.com.

Meditation, Hatha Yoga, Family Constellations Classes and programs in yoga, meditation, pranayama and spiritual and psychological development. Also Constellating the Soul: Untangling Our Lives. FMI www.TurningLight.org (207) 829-2700 North Yarmouth.

"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.

The Birth House Bridgton's freestanding birth center is available for free tours. FMI: contact heidi@birthwisemidwifery.edu, www.birthhouseme.com or (207) 647-5919.

Wavelengths Hypnotherapy ongoing classes: 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.

Oneness Blessings/Oneness Deeksha in Maine A Direct Experience of the Divine ~ Living in Oneness. Regularly scheduled circles (free). Become a Deeksha giver. Oneness Trainers Elizabeth and Maha'al. Contact Elizabeth@IntegralPotentials.com or (207) 619-1663.

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Locavore Potlucks, 5:00pm York ME Locavore potluck (local and/or wild food from animal and plant sources) takes place every third Saturday at Aimee's Livin' Magic, 254 Cider Hill Rd., York. Occasional speakers from the health and nutrition field. Emphasis on connecting to local farmers. Call Aimee at (207) 409-0899 or visit www.liveinmagic.com for details.

Center of Inner Light, Rev. Gloria Nye Located at 267 Congress Street, Portland, ME (within the synagogue). Sunday Services: 10:30am-12:00pm followed by fellowship. FMI call (207) 576-7276, visit www.RevGloriaNye.com.

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.

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.

“SANT MAT RADHASWAMI SATSANG” Inner Light & Sound Meditation. Surat Shabd Yoga. For a Bangor, Waterville, & Portland meeting schedule, call James at: (207) 358-9381 or James@SpiritualAwakeningRadio.com.

Ongoing~NewHampshire 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. FMI: (913) 938-6384.

Eaton Satsang Near Conway, NH an informal small group meets Wednesday evenings to support meditation, awakening to nondual (Advaita) awareness and spiritual understanding. All are welcome. Details at. www.eatonsatsang.org or (603) 447-5401.

Ongoing ~ Vermont Zen Yoga Breathing, movement, stretching and deep guided relaxation meditation. Every Wednesday evening. Beginners 6:00pm7:00pm. All levels 7:00pm-8:30pm. $10 per class. Location: Studio Time and Space in Springfield, CT. Everyone welcome. www.studiotimeandspace.org, (802) 591-0990.

Ledge End Retreat & Wellness Center Personal training sessions in Tai Chi, Qigong, Zen Yoga, meditation and nature based spirituality. Accommodations available. All levels. www.artofzenyoga.com, (802) 685-4448.

Classified Listings BUSINESSES FOR SALE ~ HOLISTIC

Dragonfly Taijiquan, Larry Ira Landau 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.

Doula tea ~ meet with doulas in person Learn how doulas help families during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. We meet one Sunday each month at the Birth Roots, 101 State St., Portland from 9:00am-11:00am. There is no fee, pre-registration is required. Call Rebecca Goodwin at (207) 318-8272.

USM Center for Continuing Education.

Ongoing classes in Complementary Therapies, (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Aromatherapy, Reiki, etc.) Visit www.usm.maine.edu/cce for course & registration information or call (207) 780-5900 for catalog.

Calendar of Events

Yoga Retail Store Integrate your practice with your work in this unique business opportunity. One of a kind boutique serving Maine’s rapidly growing yoga /meditation/wellness community for the past 5 years. In Portland’s burgeoning Arts District. All reasonable and serious offers considered. FMI: cmackay@gwi.net or http://thehappyyogi.com.

and small groups. Bridgton Lakes Region, Denmark, Maine, (207) 452-2929, www.ntnretreats.com.

Dancing Angels Wellness Studio & The Maine Center for Pranic Healing We are happy to provide you with tools for Mind, Body and Soul Expansion! Angel Therapy®, Pranic Healing, Reiki and so much more! www.dancingangels.us or e-mail dancingangels@dancingangels.us.

Jerry’s Apothecary™ Creating custom soaps, bath salts, skin salves, clay masks, infused oils… using the essence of Mother Earth for your benefit. www.dancingangels.us/body.html.

PRACTITIONERS Reconnective Healing & The Reconnection!

Experience healing frequencies that are evolutionary for: cancer, emotional stress, physical disease, addiction, etc.

Contact Ruth Kirkwood (207) 773-1406 in Portland, Maine. $50.00 Free Consultations For The Reconnection!

SACRED RENTAL SPACE A Place In The Heart Energetically clear, beautiful spaces for classes, workshops, celebrations, and ceremony. Outdoor ceremonial space available. Located in Falmouth. Reasonable rates. FMI call The Vywamus Foundation (207) 797-6106.

Green-Certified Eco-Retreat Space available for rent.

Nurture Through Nature offers three solar-powered eco-cabins, private camping, wood-fired sauna, yoga studio, hiking trails, mountain brook, Denmark, Maine ~ Greater Bridgton Lakes Region, www.ntnretreats.com, (207) 452-2929.

Gardens of Atlantis Rental space available to practitioners/teachers. We are committed to providing our best to our community to support growth, beauty, healing and Love. Call Linda at (207) 929-5088.

Private Yoga Retreat for Couples Accommodation, meals and all training in a secluded location in the mountains of Vermont. Giving you and your partner a chance to reconnect. Tai Chi, Qigong, Zen Yoga and meditation.

Ledge End Retreat & Wellness Center, www.artofzenyoga.com (802) 685-4448.

WANTED – SURVEY PARTICIPANTS ARE YOU A MAINE WOMAN SEEKING HELP TO RECOVER FROM ALCOHOL AND DRUG ADDICTION?

The Women’s Addiction Services Council (WASC) wants to know what is needed by women who are struggling to recover from alcohol and drug related problems and what gets in their way. Please take a moment to fill out this brief anonymous survey to help us help women in Maine. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DWQ2WQX

HEALING PLACES & SPACES Nurture Through Nature specializes in holistic personal retreats. Experience peace, healing and connection with self and nature in a simple and earth-friendly environment. Enjoy yoga, body work, a Finnish wood-fired sauna steam bath, dips in the mountain brook, hiking, meditation, The Work of Byron Katie, canoeing, kayaking...create your own getaway for individuals, couples

ALL EVENTS ARE LISTED ONLINE AT www.innertapestry.org

~ Ongoing Event Listings ~

Classified Ads

Inner Tapestry 's ~ calendar of Events and Classified Guidelines ~ Date Sensitive Listings ~ $12 per issue for 30 words, additional words are 50 cents each.

Please follow the format found in the journal and online, (Date information, title, description, location and contact information.)

A six-month (3 issue) listing is $25 for 30 words, additional words are 50 cents each.

Classified ads are $20 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.)

Please send formatted listings.

We do not publish press releases.

w w w .in n e rt ape st ry.o rg 44 Inner Tapestry Feb/Mar 2011

All Calendar and Classified Listings are listed on the Inner Tapestry Website!

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Book Review Falling In Love With The Earth By: Tyger Wright ISBN: 978-0-557-68997-2 Publisher: Kathleen Wright LuLu.com & Amazon.com Shortly after we moved to Connecticut I received a note from a local author who invited me to a book reading in the park, in a near by town. Though I couldn't attend I was happy to hear of such an event and thankfully listen to the small voice that said, connect with this person.

B

OOKS

O I D RA MUSIC

DVDs S E I V O M HEALI NG TOOLS

AND F OO D EWS R E V Iand more

There are many talented writers, and Tyger is no exception.

She is able to weave the messages we need to hear about our Mother Earth with story (if you are so inclined to believe) to help us find compassion and a passion to help ourselves and others find a way to heal and embrace our lives.

This is a magical journey that brings our modern day lives and mythology together in a story you will carry in your heart for a lifetime. The characters in this journey are intimately gathered to help us remember who we are and what we are capable of being in the presence of each other.

Once you begin reading this book, you will have a hard time putting it down. It is a love story that spans the limitations of time, space and the dimensions of life bringing the reader to a deeper connection to the heartbeat of life.

Who are or is the true hero(s) of the story? Is there one?

Are the heros the Gods who play with mortality without regard? Are they the children born of the Gods from mythology into human form?

This story is of an eclectic group of beings. It chronicles the lives of the daughters of Althea and Zeus (protector and ruler of humankind), Brooke and Brysi, naiads who care for Mother Earth's water. Will they be able to help save the earth with their love and constant vigil?

This is not only a love story of the earth, but how the love that has been gifted can effect and hold the space for incredible relationships among people, either mortal or mythical.

The ending may not be as expected, but one thing is for sure... You will be left to answer the questions that lie deep within you. "Who Am I?" and "How Do I Bring This Expression Out In My World?" maybe a couple that arise.

Take the opportunity to journey with this artfully assembled group to a place that just maybe our fate. Stay within yourself and you will start to feel the answers that we all may have been looking for.

Thank you Tyger for bringing this wonderful story to the local community and now to the world.

Falling In Love With The Earth can be purchased through LuLu.com and Amazon.com.

Book Review The Barn Dance By: James Twyman ISBN: 978-1-4019-2837-7 Publisher: Hay House, Inc. www.HayHouse.com OK... So there are not many of us who do not know of James Twyman. But, do we know him? We know him to be an instrumental peacemaker in our world, a world renown author, film maker and visionary. All of these are truly the expression of a man whom has lived. Lived, both the wonders of life as well as what most of us would call the pitfalls and hopelessness that can over come any of us at anytime.

His willingness to embrace all of who he is and receive the gifts those moments brought to his awareness allowed James to open his heart to what some would say is a "higher calling."

In his recent book, The Barn Dance, James shares with us his life in a very personal and intimate way. Whether the reader chooses to believe the full array of events that transpired, this is a wonderful story of relationship and the truth of love and life beyond death.

James meet Linda in 1984 shortly after college, their relationship continues through courtship, marriage, a wonderful daughter Angela, separation and ultimately Linda's death in 2005 when two men broke into her Illinois apartment and ended her life.

It is not often one awakens to the news that someone they so dearly love has been murdered. How do you tell your

by Joan Emmons

child that her mother has been murdered? How do you even get up and start to let in that she is gone? How will you ever get up again?

This is a journey that can lead a person to their own selfdestruction or to the place within where compassion and a passion for life is birthed.

The Barn Dance, as told by James, is the story of his journey to find peace within the events that he has lived. It will create an opportunity for the reader to experience what James describes as: "The place somewhere between Heaven and Earth, the place where the magic never ends..."

This is a story that happened. One that few are gifted to be open enough to receive. To those who believe, it is an incredible confirmation that we are all connected past our mortality together, beyond time, dimensions and feeling.

On the trip home from Linda's services there was almost an accident... or was there? That haunting place on the road home continued to drawn James back to it. After years of depression and anguish he finally listened and took the trip back to that place that was calling to him.

He was lead to a Barn deep in the Nevada wilderness where Heaven and Earth were allowed to converge and create the magic of love and healing that changes lives.

If you have ever doubted that communication with loved ones past was possible, you will be intrigued to follow your own feelings of possibility within as you read this book.

A remarkable person, a remarkable life...

An extraordinary experience.

Thank you James, for sharing not only what you know to be true beyond what most could possibly imagine, and for allowing the events of your life to touch others in such a healing and profound way.

Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 45

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WEB SITES

This person was Tyger and she was reading from her not yet published book Falling In Love With The Earth. From our conversation I was blessed with the opportunity to obtain a copy of her manuscript. What I read touched me deeply.

by Joan Emmons

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Movie Reviews

Food Review by James Bean

Ghetto Physics ~ It's Not What You Think Writers and Directors: William Arntz and E. Raymond Brown Stars: Mike Foy, Sabrina Revelle and Nina Baniels http://GhettoPhysics.com Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIuVxW4v-E Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1r4i7-2KtE

Sunshine Patties By: ecoVegan Website: http://www.ecoVegan.com

Recently I watched Ghetto Physics, the latest project

by Will Arntz, director of What the Bleep!? - Down the Rabbit Hole.

Found the language to be a bit annoying at first but stuck with it. I relate to what Joe Vitale said in his review: “As I watched Ghetto Physics, I felt defensive, alarmed, disgusted, and then on to entertained, educated, and finally enlightened.”

In Search of the Perfect Veggie or Vegan Burger If you’re committed to following a vegan diet (no animal products whatsoever) or lacto-vegetarian diet (no meat or eggs), over the years it’s likely you’ve developed the habit of reading the labels of various food products and nutritional supplements in a noble attempt to avoid undesirable, even surprising ingredients. You never know what you might find!

It’s an in-your-face documentary with a positive message illustrating the power dynamic that exists in social, political, and corporate relationships.

There is indeed metaphysics in Ghetto Physics. It makes valuable observations.

Maya is the worldwide “Game” of illusion. Perhaps this “Game” never changes, but the players, including the played, have the potential to awaken.

Some Not-So-Healthy Examples 1) Though veggie caps have been around for awhile now, even at this late date, some vitamin and antioxidant capsules are still made of gelatin “derived from the collagen inside animals’ skin and bones” – Wikipedia.

Movie Reviews

2) Often veggie burgers sold in the health food isle of grocery stores contain some eggs or egg whites – a real disappointment if you’re trying to avoid eggs.

3) If a company sells both meat and what they are calling “vegan” food products, and these all come from the same processing plant, vegans have discovered that cross-contamination with meat can be a very real concern, and those items might not be quite so vegan after all.

Director Tom Shadyac - (who directed: Patch Adams, Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty) Featuring Desmond Tutu, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Coleman Barks, and Thom Hartmann, Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAwIzT8cBSAWebsite: http://iamthedoc.com

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Just finished watching a review DVD copy of a new film called I Am. Very inspiring, and all about change in the world, the process of it. It provides some stunning examples of democracy in nature, how decisions are made by the consensus of majorities. What choices we all make do matter, do collectively add up, taking humanity in one direction or another. Hope everyone can see it. February 2011 it will be coming to theaters. It is the best film in a very long time, and illustrates so well how films can be one of the most powerful mediums for communicating ideas!

James Bean reviews books and music for the Wisdom Radio Network and other stations via a syndicated radio program called Spiritual Awakening. Address questions or comments to: P O Box 7, Newport, ME 04953, or Email: james@spiritualawakeningradio.com.

Rumi ~ The Big Red Book: The Great Masterpiece Celebrating Mystical Love and Friendship ISBN: 978-0061905827 Publisher: Harper One Says the 13th Century Poet-mystic Jalaluddin Rumi: Something opens our wings.

Something makes boredom and hurt disappear.

Someone fills the cup in front of us.

We taste only sacredness.

If you’ve been wondering which collection of Rumi poems to get, this one, 492 pages in length, represents a most excellent vintage indeed, offering cup after cup of a spiritually intoxicating elixir you’ll only find at Rumi’s tavern. “Rumi - The Big Red Book,” represents the essence or distillation of many decades worth of translation effort – Coleman Bark’s life’s work.

Not long ago I had the privilege of interviewing Coleman on my program, Spiritual Awakening Radio. During the course of the conversation he confirmed that it was the Christian Science Monitor that said, “Rumi is the most widely read poet in America.” By “liberating Rumi from a scholarly purgatory”, as he put it, Coleman’s intimate, contemporary English translations have almost singlehandedly made Rumi into a household name.

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by James Bean

I Am

I was very glad not long ago to learn about ecoVegan, a purely vegan company created-by-and-for those following a strictly vegan diet. As they say at their website: “ecoVegan is a vegan owned and run company established by a team of compassionate and environmentally-aware individuals.” They currently have four products available in the US: Sunshine Patties, Ocean’s Delight, Orientals Joy, and Spicy Bits, which can be ordered directly from their website, or from other vegan venues you might already be acquainted with. All very nice, containing only non-GMO wheat and non-GMO soy, and one hundred percent free of animal ingredients: no cheese, no rennet, no traces of meat products, and no eggs.

Always being in search of the perfect vegan burger, Sunshine Patties are my favorite. Instead of being the typical dry burger, these burgers arrive sealed in their own juices, which really adds to the flavor, a satisfying experience. I also find them to be filling, energizing, and a robust protein source with just the right balance of soy and wheat, a smart and healthy meat alternative.

Book Review by James Bean

by James Bean

Conscious Media: The state of conscious media and mainstream, and the "Social Obligation" of big media to facilitate human enlightenment and positive change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj4pR1NMkxo

What is that “Something” people are magnetically drawn to in Rumi’s verses, like a moth to the flame? From where does this sparkling radiance and inspiration emanate? Perhaps the highest answer is that Rumi gives voice to the Cry of the Soul within us all.

Another answer would be, Rumi was a Sufi Master and mystic-soul. Many may not realize, when they enjoy reading Rumi poetry, they are encountering, perhaps for the first time, teachings that come directly from a living school of spirituality known as Sufism, and Sufis are the gnostic or mystical branch of Islam. When Rumi writes about Shams of Tabriz, he is referring to his spiritual teacher and mentor in a long line of Sufi Masters spanning many generations. And to this day, there are numerous Sufi Orders in the world.

During the interview, Coleman mentioned that he had met the great Sufi teacher Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, at first in a dream! Then eventually, in person, visiting with him many times (1977-86). Muhaiyaddeen would often come to the US. Named after their founder, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship is a Sufi center located in Philadelphia.

Rumi, with his message of tolerance between religions and spiritual oneness with God, “The Beloved,” was so far ahead of his time, he seems right at home here in the 21st Century. The vision of Rumi is a life-affirming one that so desperately needs to be shared with humanity.

There are so many other gnostics, mystics, and heretics also doing time in various “scholarly purgatories” of academia, wooden translations of obscurity. I know a thousand “Rumis” the world needs to hear, to be soothed by the Voice of the Soul that speaks through them all. Hafiz, Shams of Tabriz, Sarmad, Kabir, Rabia, Mira Bai, Daya Bai, Sahjo Bai, Tukaram, Hazrat Sultan Bahu, Baba Farid, Guru Nanak, Dariya Sahib, Tulsi Sahib, Surdas, Namdev, Ravidas, Paltu, and many more besides, up to the living present – countless are lovers of the Beloved.

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Book Review Brainstorm: Harnessing the Power of Productive Obesssions By: Eric Maisel, PhD and Ann Maisel ISBN: 978-1-57731-621-3 Publisher: New World Library In Brainstorm : Harnessing the Power of Productive Obsessions, Eric and Ann Maisel give sound, useful, empathetic, even entertaining assistance to anyone who feels their wheels are spinning, rather than carrying them somewhere they want to be.

Dr. Eric Maisel’s work has been addressed primarily to artists and writers.

One of the greatest strengths of Brainstorm is that it acknowledges that many other puzzles that face humans are also creative enterprises. Scientists work for decades pursuing lines of enquiry that may or may not pay off. Retirees at the point of choosing where they go next are creating meaning for themselves and those around them. Teachers developing new curricula are creating meaning. This book will help all such individuals as well as artists and writers.

Obsession has a bad name, and of course, excessive or pointless obsessions are destructive. Obsessive compulsive disorder is disabling. Many artists, Beethoven and Van Gogh among them, are obsessive in ways that make them brilliant, and ways that make them maddening. And we are all aware of how our electronic devices

Transform Your Life Through Handwriting By: Vimala Rodgers ISBN: 978-1-59179-715-9 Publisher: Sound True Your destiny is in your hands—or maybe in your handwriting.

Acknowledged for centuries as a diagram of the subconscious mind, today’s handwriting experts view the way we curve, cross and dot the letters of the alphabet as a reflection of self-image. Some even claim handwriting is a pathway to our deepest desires and offers a glimpse into the soul’s destiny. Master Alphabetician and handwriting specialist, Vimala Rodgers is intimately familiar with the meaning of each stroke of the pen. A zealous pioneer in mind/hand research and author of the bestseller Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life, Vimala Rodgers’ has made it her life’s work to understanding the inherent spirituality of the letters of the alphabet and their effect upon the psyche.

Rodgers’ Transform Your Life Through Handwriting (Sounds True, 2009) is an interactive learning kit consisting of a guidebook, a journal, two audio CDs and a deck of alphabet cards. It is presented as “a dynamic, easy to use tool for persons who want to change the direction of their lives in a positive, self-affirming way.”

The packaging is very compelling. The graphics convey a retro vibe that is appealing. The Guidebook is upbeat and informative, making reading easy for the person just beginning to explore the hidden meaning of their handwriting. In the Guidebook, Rodgers presents a simplified rendition of her earlier, more thorough and complete works. She provides a good introduction to the nuances of letter strokes and the proper way to create each letter in her system.

The CD provides an interactive learning experience for the beginning and more experienced student of handwriting studies. The handwriting card deck portrays each capital letter and lower case letter based on Vimala’s standards for how to write them. This is a handy tool when practicing letter strokes. Each card features an inspirational “declarations of intent” on the reverse side. The spiral bound journal was a nice touch in the packaging, but may have added extra expense when any piece of unlined paper would have been acceptable for anyone to practice writing.

can engage us in pointless and empty obsessing. From discerning what your own obsession really is, to actually taking actions to pursue it; from monitoring your progress to recognizing when you need to acknowledge a wrong choice and move on, the Maisels provide multitudes of helpful suggestions and examples.

To oversimplify, a productive obsession is a habit of mind, a consuming interest that persists over time and impels a person towards concerted thought and behavior that creates meaning. That meaning may be a discovery, a symphony, a novel, or a life lived well. As one of their chapter headings states, productively obsessing is a journey, not a destination. As on any journey, there are way stations, periodic reports to check process and monitor progress.

At this point let me admit a bias. I don’t like "self-help" books. But this one is different. The Maisels avoid the pitfalls that are repellent in bad examples of the genre. They never overpromise, they never let you believe that this is an invariably beautiful and easy way of life, and they are profoundly aware that each person will obsess uniquely. They almost entirely avoid jargon. They had me on page 3 with the sentence, “What you are not guaranteed are successful results.” But as experienced creativity coaches they are able to describe and empathize with how and how easily we stray from what we intend, through distraction, through choosing the wrong obsession, or through letting our investment in the process dwindle, and they describe truly useful ways to maintain focus and effort.

Productive obsession is creativity at its best, and Brainstorm is an excellent manual to help anyone to begin, persist in, and celebrate their own productive obsession.

Liz Kirkpatrick is a poet and essayist, facilitator of The Writer's Circle a non-profit group in CT as well as reading group coordinator of library programs in central CT and retired Assistant Director of the Wethersfield Public Library. She can be reached by email: lkirkpatrick44@hotmail.com.

by Karen Hollis As a professional intuitive for the past 25 years, and one who employs handwriting analysis in working with clients, I found Transform Your Life Through Handwriting is not up to par with Rodgers earlier publications, Change Your Handwriting, Change Your Life and Soul Development Through Handwriting: The Waldorf Approach to the Vimala Alphabet. In the new work, Vimala "tones down" her material for the less serious student, one who is metaphysically inclined.

Perhaps this was an attempt to draw a wider demographic to her work, but it falls short of the high standards typical of her other works.

In her ambitious attempt to expand her reach into metaphysical market, she describes correspondences between the letters and a host of, in my opinion, random metaphysical icons including elements of earth, ‘gender’ of the letters, gemstones, power animals and other guides/ guardians. Given the small size of the Transform Your Life kit, Rodgers missed the mark in trying to be all-inclusive of a very diverse market. I would love to see her explore these connections to other metaphysical and esoteric studies in a larger work where she can make a more thorough presentation of the material.

Overall, those who are new to her work will follow along with ease and be inspired to experiment with their own handwriting. For those of us who are familiar with Vimala Rodgers’ work, we will appreciate this kit as a handy quick reference, especially if used with clients.

For More information about this product: http://www.iihs.com/index.html Product Details: 1. Two audio sessions with master teacher Vimala Rodgers, including guidelines for your writing practice, explorations of the deeper meaning in every letter, and inspiring success stories.

2. An illustrated workbook with step-by-step instructions and exercises for self-exploration through handwriting, the meaning behind different writing styles, the spiritual forces aligned with each letter, and much more.

3. 26 quick reference cards for working with each letter in a 40-day cycle, including the “soul quality” of each letter.

Karen Hollis is a clairaudient intuitive and successful business woman whose clients span the globe. For more than 25 years, Karen has used her unique skills as a means to help individuals and organizations tap into their intuition and make meaningful decisions. Her clients value the accuracy, integrity and compassion Karen brings to her work. Connect: www.ReadingsByKaren.com Feb/Mar 2011 Inner Tapestry 47

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Book Review

by Liz Kirkpatrick

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JANE HONECK, CPA

Author, Speaker and Personal Financial Specialist Once you gain the keys to living a financially conscious life, you'll know any problem you may have with money isn't about the money. In fact, when you are living a dynamic, financially conscious life, money isn't a problem at all.

Call or email to schedule an appointment.

207-797-4100 info@janehoneck.com

100 Gray Rd., Falmouth, ME www.janehoneck.com

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2010 New England Book Festival Honorable Mention

www.theproblemwithmoney.com