What is it that keeps most meditators from achieving higher consciousness and lasting inner peace in spite of their repeated efforts to do so through their meditative practices?

The most frequent reason that keeps people from having the greater, more desired effects of their meditative practices is that they do not love. If you enter into meditation with intentions of stillness and peace, but your heart is not opening with love to that which is the Great Love, not much will happen.

The great mystics of all traditions have not coincidentally also been the great lovers of God. When they entered into meditation, they went into their inner chambers anticipating with great yearning and devotion to have a meeting with God. That God is God of Love, so the meeting and the relationship had to be one of love. This is not the romantic kind of love, because it is not about what you can get for yourself. But it is most definitely about the possibility of entering into the fullest, deepest and most profound love relationship any person can ever have.

To have a lover/beloved relationship with God within, you will have to be ready to accept the profound experience of being completely known and loved to your very core. You will need to be prepared to have the experience of that love changing you and your life in unexpected ways. When you feel that loved by this Being that knows all your faults, all your weaknesses, and all your wounds, you will either accept it in awed humility or you will pull back in fear and shame.

To be prepared to be able to accept the experience of such profound love, you will need to do some work. The work involves you opening up to the feelings that you have repressed and which you have been afraid to feel or too ashamed to acknowledge. The inner experience of Divine Love has to move through your heart, so your heart will first need to be opened up to your own feeling of all that is in it. Then, when you can face yourself and your feelings, you will need to be able to ask for and accept forgiveness for what you have done wrong. Without this step, you will be too afraid or too mad to be able to open to the influx of that great Love.

If you are willing to do this preparatory work and make your heart one that will be able to receive and hold the experience of the Love that God within you holds for you, you will discover being completely, deeply and unconditionally loved in a way no human could ever give to you. Then you will begin to know who you are and who God is. Then you will begin to truly know how to meditate.

As we move into spring, your body wants lighter protein sources such as baked or grilled fish. This recipe makes enough seasoning for two, 6 oz. tilapia (or other white fish) fillets. Pair with brown rice and a vegetable for a complete meal.

Ingredients
1 TBS butter, oil, or ghee, melted
1 tsp steak seasoning
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Dash garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking dish.
2. Combine all spices and sprinkle over fish.
3. Bake covered with aluminum foil for approximately 20 minutes or until fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork.

Save time by making a large batch to have on hand for quick, easy meals. Purchasing spices in bulk saves money.

Two cups a day can give you pouches under the eyes showing, through organ depletion, that the adrenals are shot. Pouches under the eyes are from coffee drinkers looking for energy they need in the wrong places. A latte or a soft drink hammers the adrenal system into false activity. The adrenals cannot take abuse for long, for in a few months they give out altogether, and irrevocably. People get depressed, fatigued and die early as a result.

It is the Starbuck Caribou coffee generation story. It is everywhere. Coffee infrequently is referred to as “stupid juice,” because that is what it was brewed to do: to give you energy you haven’t learned to get naturally.

Caffeine is known for peeling your nerves and stripping the sheaths off the outside. The bare nerves become raw, sensitive, putting you further into a jangled, depleted state. When people drink coffee, they become mindless, temporarily shutting down brain cell relay. Multitasking and simultaneity becomes encumbered.

You are convinced you are now “clear headed.” Rather, you have just lost use of major parts of your perception and ability to feel calm and at peace due to mentally flat lining. And 75 percent of the other working adults around you are doing the same thing, exhibiting the same effects – thus, we can justify our action for “they seem to be okay like me.” Alert! You are all acting similarly; your synapsis is slow, your nerves are jittery, you are speaking rapidly, your heart is racing and you are just too tired to think about it.
 
Remember, your body is basically a bag of chemicals. Are they in balance – 7.3 pH alkaline/acid – which is ideal? Coffee is 4.5 pH, which is highly acidic. When you look at something to consume or drink, consider its color. Is it green, yellow, red, the color of spring or summer in nature? Or the color of fall and winter when there is not enough sunlight and hydration to keep things from drying up and dying?  The wavicles of light tell how much life force it is carrying. Coffee is called “mud” for a reason. It has a deadening effect.

Coffee is considered by many to be a hybrid drug. It is at the perfect pH of 4.5 that cancer loves. When you put a cancer cell in a petri dish with coffee, it never dies. In fact, it thrives.
 
Speaking of thriving, you may change your beverage of choice to clear, fresh, naturally ionized spring water. As a coffee-drunk society, we may choose to change the course of our cultural habits from less androidal to the more aware. Much of the daily news is generated in consequence of being in a common cultural stupor of habit.

Photo Credit: iStockPhoto
Researchers have found that children who play outside more are in better shape, more creative, less aggressive and show better concentration than their couch potato counterparts.

According to Richard Louv, a founding board member of C&NN and author of the book, Last Child in the Woods, kids who stay inside too much can suffer from “nature deficit disorder,” which can contribute to a range of behavioral problems including attention disorders, depression and declining creativity, as well as physical problems like obesity. Louv blames parental paranoia about potential dangers lurking outdoors and restricted access to natural areas – combined with the lure of video games, websites and TV.

Of course, one of the keys to getting kids to appreciate nature is for parents to lead by example by getting off the couch and into the outdoors themselves. Since kids love being with their parents, why not take the fun outside? For those kids who need a little extra prodding beyond following a parent’s good example, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), a leading national non-profit dedicated to preserving and appreciating wildlife, offers lots of suggestions and other resources through its Be Out There campaign.

One tip is to pack an “explorer’s kit” – complete with a magnifying glass, binoculars, containers for collecting, field guides, a notebook, bug repellent and Band-Aids® – into a backpack and leave it by the door to facilitate spontaneous outdoor adventures. Another idea is to set aside one hour each day as “green hour,” during which kids go outside exploring, discovering and learning about the natural world.

NWF’s online Activity Finder helps parents discover fun outdoor activities segmented by age. Examples include going on a Conifer Quest and making a board displaying the different types of evergreen trees in the neighborhood, turning an old soda bottle into a terrarium and building a wildlife brush shelter.

Researchers have found that children who play outside more are in better shape, more creative, less aggressive and show better concentration than their couch potato counterparts – and that the most direct route to environmental awareness for adults is participating in wild nature activities as kids. So do yourself and your kid(s) a favor, and take a hike!

CONTACTS: Richard Louv, www.richardlouv.com; NWF Be Out There, www.nwf.org/Be-Out-There.aspx; C&NN, www.childrenandnature.org.

Photo Credit: iStockPhoto
Smoking and poor nutrition together account for two-thirds of U.S. cancer deaths each year, but the President’s Cancer Panel reported in 2010 that environmental toxins play a significant and under-recognized role in many cancers, causing “grievous harm” to untold numbers of Americans.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit working to protect public health and the environment, a key first step in warding off cancer is lifestyle change – “stopping smoking, reducing drinking, losing weight, exercising and eating right.” The American Cancer Society reports that smoking and poor nutrition each account for about one-third of the 575,000 U.S. cancer deaths each year.

But smoking and obesity are obvious and other cancer triggers aren’t so easily pinpointed. In 2010 the President’s Cancer Panel reported that environmental toxins play a significant and under-recognized role in many cancers, causing “grievous harm” to untold numbers of Americans. And EWG reports that U.S. children are born “pre-polluted” with up to 200 carcinogenic substances already in their bloodstreams.

Given this shocking fact, it may seem futile to try to reduce our bodies’ chemical burden, but it could be a matter of life and death. EWG lists several ways anyone can cut their cancer risk. First up is to filter our tap water, which can include arsenic, chromium and harmful chemicals. Simple carbon filters or pitchers can reduce contaminants, while more costly reverse osmosis filters can filter out arsenic or chromium.

The foods we choose also play a role in whether or not we get cancer. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is healthy, but not if they are laden with pesticides. Going organic when possible is the best way to reduce pesticide exposure. And when organic foods aren’t available, stick with produce least likely to contain pesticides (check out EWG’s “Clean 15″ list of conventional crops containing little if any pesticide residue). EWG also suggests cutting down on high-fat meats and dairy products: “Long-lasting cancer-causing pollutants like dioxins and PCBs accumulate in the food chain and concentrate in animal fat.”

Eliminating stain- and grease-proofing chemicals (Teflon, Scotchgard, etc.) is another way to cut cancer risks. “To avoid them,” says EWG, “skip greasy packaged foods and say no to optional stain treatments in the home.” And steer clear of BPA, a synthetic estrogen found in some plastic water bottles, canned infant formula and canned foods. “To avoid it, eat fewer canned foods, breast feed your baby or use powdered formula, and choose water bottles free of BPA,” reports EWG. Personal care products and cosmetics can also contain carcinogens. EWG’s “Skin Deep” cosmetics database flags particularly worrisome products and green-lights others that are healthy.

Another cancer prevention tip is to seal wooden outdoor decks and playsets. Those made before 2005 likely contain lumber “pressure-treated” with carcinogenic arsenic in order to stave off insect infestations. Of course, avoiding too much sun exposure-and wearing high-SPF sunscreen-when using those decks and playsets is another important way to hedge one’s bets against cancer.

CONTACTS: EWG, www.ewg.org; President’s Cancer Panel, http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp.

Why is spiritual support important to you? Having a support system helps you feel successful as a Mom. Family and friends often fulfill this role. And tapping into your spiritual support team takes it to a completely different level.

When you connect with the loving energy of your spiritual guides, it offers you peaceful clarity that ignites the wisdom already inside your heart. It awakens your intuition, feeding a desire for connection.

You feel held in compassion that soothes your soul. Your worries melt, fears diminish and joy fills your spirit.

It’s not your job to carry worries and fears of what may or may not be for you and your child. Give them all to your team. Allow them to unburden your mind.

So your heart is light and free to guide the way with pure intention.

How does receiving spiritual support help your child? Receiving help and support is a powerful demonstration of self-love and respect. When you receive spiritual support, you nurture the relationship within yourself.

You awaken your Divine presence and your child feels safe to express his or her gifts.

When you receive spiritual nourishment, giving to your child feels easy because it flows from an abundant space. Meeting both of your needs becomes a natural and healthy energy balance.

Here are three simple steps to begin connecting with your spiritual support team:

1. Ask – Asking for their help invites their energy into your heart. They are patiently waiting. They have a strong desire to support you and want you to ask for their help. You can ask for support with anything.

Learning to ask for help also means learning to let go of old beliefs. Start by asking yourself a few simple questions:

• Is this feeling, thought or belief serving my highest Divine self?
• Is it serving my child’s spiritual purpose?
• Am I ready and willing to give this to my spiritual support team?

As you become clear with your answers, you gain clarity in learning to discern what is yours to carry and what is not. This helps free your energy to carry only that which is of the highest service to you and your child.

Your guides are standing by ready and willing to take away any worries, fears and frustrations. Just ask them to take these concerns from you, like a heavy weight being lifted off!

2. Believe — Your guides are always right by your side. Trust and have faith even if you can’t “see” them. Know that they are surrounding you with love. You have all the support you could ever imagine…and more!

When you are ready to let go, have faith that they are meeting your request and fulfilling your need from the highest Divine point of Love.

3. Receive — Be open to receiving messages — such as in your dreams or seeing and hearing words, phrases repeatedly. Information can even be given through other people. Or perhaps you have inspired thoughts and ideas. The more open you allow yourself to be, the more guidance you receive. Giving yourself time every day to connect with your team nurtures a deeper relationship over time that will eventually feel natural and easy.

In motherhood, you are gifted with an abundance of support. The illusion of having to do it all yourself no longer serves you or your child. You are not alone.

Asking for spiritual support invites ease and dissolves barriers to love. Breathe a little easier knowing you’re always being held in Love as you step into your highest calling of Divine Motherhood.

I didn’t know it as I wrote, but Travels with Puff turned out to be a story hummed about the theme song for my brief stay on this planet. Same song’s shared by I don’t know how many hundreds of millions: What is it to become free, and how do I express my freedom to choose my own life, every day?

The mavericks among us, our wanderers, our explorers, they hand us examples all the time. Willing to give up convention, willing to cast off from visible security for the invisible, or for no security at all? “Hi-ho, adventurers, fellow mavericks, steer this way!”

Not me. I’m no maverick. My only claim to mavericity is twofold: I do not own a tie; and I have never worn a tuxedo. Further, in stubborn defiance, I intend never to do either, for so long as I may live. Not claim enough to become an Alpha Maverick, I’m somewhere down the list among the Lambdas, or the Upsilons.

For this reason, some suspect that I may bend the truth, in my books, play fast with it, if not loose.

I have no smallest doubt that this story would be subject to those claims, as well; you’d think I made it up. I knew before ever I met Mister Toad, or even Puff herself, that others would doubt these meetings really happened, doubt that anything on these pages was more than the idle writer rising an inch from his feather-pillows to pen his imaginings.

Enter my humble cell-phone camera for the first sketchy evidence: photographs. Next enter Dan Nickens, his matching spirit, his own experimental seaplane, sister to Puff, and his unmatched one-of-a-kind Canon EOS 5D Series II Full Frame CMOS Digital Single Lens Reflex Compact Body Super-Camera, the better to fasten upon the truth of each word, every day’s adventure which you may very well be about to read.

Destiny brought us together for this flight, and for love of you, dear reader, to prove once and always that every event, every idea upon the following pages or upon your high-tech visi-screen pseudopage is every single one of them true, and here be the photographs to prove it!

Not wild adventure, through this volume, but gentle, of the sort that anyone can assay, with near certainty; no requests for dying along the way which can’t be declined.

A few years ago, someone asked me by way of their T-shirt, “Got Freedom?”

Here’s, a bit delayed and by way of two small seaplanes and a continent ten thousand horizons wide, my answer.

Sri Karunamayi will share her profound understanding of deep spiritual wisdom of the ancient Indian sages in a relaxed and enjoyable discourse blended with humor, motherly advice, devotional singing, and personal blessings. Following the discourse, there will be an opportunity for everyone to meet briefly with this Indian saint one-on-one and ask questions. For many who return to see Amma each year, this personal time is the most touching experience of pure love they have ever had.

This year, a one-day silent retreat with Sri Karunamayi will take place on May 29. It will provide an opportunity for enriching whatever path one is on through periods of silent meditation, interspersed with Amma’s inspiring discourses, classes and bhajans. Even those who do not already practice a form of silent meditation will find the retreat rewarding.

Amma’s visit will conclude with a Sacred Fire Ceremony (homa). Amma has explained that this purifies the Earth’s atmosphere, uplifts the community and contributes to the health and prosperity of the individual. Special offerings are made into the fire while Sanskrit mantras are chanted, generating powerful spiritual energy dedicated to peace and healing for the entire world. Everyone is able to participate in the chanting, enriching the sublime liveliness of silence.

All are welcome to attend these life-transforming events at the Hindu Temple of Minnesota, 10530 Troy Lane, Maple Grove. The programs are free of charge except for the daylong silent retreat. For more information, visit www.karunamayi.org or call 612.516.8039 for local information.

This networking group is free and open to the public. Join us the 21st of each month as we explore the various, diverse aspects in the Twin Cities community. Each month we will feature a different business and highlight parts of our community to help you explore and network through consciousness-based wholeness. Professionals, business owners and the public at large are welcome to participate. Each attendee will get about 1 minute to introduce themselves and what they do. Please arrive no later than 7 p.m. so the program can begin promptly at 7:15.

For updates, visit www.edgemagazine.net/networking/

These questions prompted Karlie Cole, a local web designer and single mother of four, to research sustainability resources throughout the Twin Cities metro area. She discovered countless groups, organizations, individuals, businesses, educational opportunities, advocacy networks and events focused on sustainability, but they were scattered, disconnected, and hard to find.

Recognizing a problem she could have an impact on, Cole immediately took on the task of building a web platform to bring all of these resources together into a collaborative online community.

SustainingCommunity.org, which launched last month, employs an innovative, crowd-sourcing approach to making Twin Cities’ sustainability resources more visible, accessible and engaging by welcoming everyone to add their favorite local resources and upcoming events, as well as to connect with online social networking. The site adds tools for groups to share skills, ideas and opportunities, while inviting the community to suggest new tools to meet emerging needs.

SustainingCommunity.org provides users:

• A local resources directory with free-of-charge listings for groups, organizations, neighborhoods, congregations, businesses, educational opportunities, advocacy networks and community leaders.
• An interactive events calendar
• Local and national articles and videos addressing sustainability topics
• Tools to facilitate group discussions, conduct polls and coordinate volunteers
• A forum for locating and sharing free goods and services
• Online social networking opportunities including searchable member profiles to make it easy to connect with people based on neighborhoods and interests
• Easy integration with other social networks from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

To learn more, visit SustainingCommunity.org.

Braaten-Lee will explain the science behind Higher Brain Living, how it affects change in your life and how you can become involved in the raising of consciousness in this grass roots movement. The event is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to Noon at Rasmussen College, 4400 W. 78th St., in Bloomington.

Higher Brain Living creates a surge of energy from the lower survival brain to the higher part of the brain (prefrontal cortex) so you can thrive in all life areas. It provides a way to step into your authentic self with little effort, bypassing your ego where all doubt and negative self-talk lives.

The event is particularly appealing to psychologists, nurses, life coaches, holistic health practitioners, body workers, chiropractors and others looking for a new career.

This leading edge technique can be seamlessly integrated into your current wellness practice or it allows the opportunity for an entirely new, fulfilling business venture, owning an AWAKEN Higher Brain Living Center, said event sponsor Marita Rahlenbeck.

Registration is required by email at Marita@MaritaInternational.com, or visit http://hbl051813.eventbrite.com/# to register. For more information, call 952.215.2161 or visit MaritaInternational.com/events-calendar.

They will engage in what promises to be an extraordinary dialogue on sustainable health and well-being at the Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison.

Two sessions will take place, moderated by Arianna Huffington and Dr. Daniel Goleman, featuring conversations on Global Health and Well-being, followed by conversations on Science, Happiness and Well-being. Panelists include: His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama; Dr. Richard J. Davidson, neuroscientist; Dr. Ilona Kickbusch, global health leader; Dr. Jonathan Patz, environmental health leader; Dr. Don Berwick, health care leader; Richard Layard, economist; and Dr. Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk and scholar.

The Dalai Lama and the other panelists share the belief that a healthier world is a happier world, and that discovering ways to improve global health and sustainable well-being is one of the most important topics of our time. Dialogues will be organic conversations between the Dalai Lama and thought leaders revolving around how science, contemplative practice and modern analytical tools can be combined to make the entire world a happier, healthier place.

This event is co-hosted by the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center and the Global Health Institute, both at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds conducts rigorous scientific research on healthy qualities of mind such as kindness, compassion, forgiveness and mindfulness. An inter-disciplinary team of scientists is exploring a wide range of ideas from the impact of a kindness curriculum in schools to the effectiveness of yoga and breathing exercises in reducing the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in military combat veterans.

The Global Health Institute (GHI) expands the UW-Madison’s global health educational initiatives to examine the root causes of illness, including environmental, economic, social and political factors. Director Dr. Jonathan Patz, who shared a Nobel Prize for his work with the United Nations Panel on Climate Change, believes highly integrated solutions will improve health today and ensure a healthy future for all.

Tickets for the event are sold out, but visit cmcw2013.wisc.edu for complete details. The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds (www.investigatinghealthyminds.org) will be live-streaming the event.

Almost all the people I treat with these energy disturbances are familiar with psychic protection work, but most admit that they only use it on occasion. Even then, many explain that when they are engaging in protection work, they are often focusing on the energies that they fear rather than on creating a sacred secure space for themselves.

You are a powerful creative being, and you can protect your beloved energy system and heal humanity at the same time. It merely takes commitment, coupled with unwavering intention in your protection practices. My guides have led me to better my own protection practices, and I want to share this guidance with you.

Rule 1 — Keep it consistent. Don’t just do protection work when you have to go to court, see your ex or go to the DMV. Do it every day! I have had healers tell me, “I do protection work before I work on clients,” while they lay before me with multiple chakras blocked and fierce etheric cords affecting them. We interact with energy all day, every day. That is why I like to practice every morning when I wake up. It’s a great way to start the day, by honoring your energy field.

Rule 2 — FEEL yourself protected. When you are “white lighting,” cloaking, or doing whatever form your practice entails, visualize the experience as best you can. If you have trouble visualizing it, simply affirm that you are safe and secure. Imagine anything that will make you feel safe. I like to see my guides or angels surrounding me as I am out in the world. Use whatever gets you into the place of feeling safe, because it is your emotions that make this work so powerful.

Rule 3 — Use crystal clear intentions. As with all of life, you want to be sure that your protection work comes from a place of love rather than fear. When we practice our protection work from a place of fear, we not only fail to protect ourselves, we also fuel the negativity we are trying to avoid in the first place. For example, one of my dear friends was in a class where the bulk of individuals had negative attitudes and chronic poor health. Not surprisingly, my friend left these classes depressed and exhausted. After a couple of miserable sessions, she vowed to practice protection work before each class.

She white-lighted herself and imagined a cloak around her, affirming no negative energies could penetrate this protective field. A few days later, my friend called upset. She said she had done extensive protection work before class, and while she felt safe and protected, she had great difficulty communicating with her fellow students. In fact, she said that it was as if nobody heard her, almost as if she did not exist. I noted how powerful a manifestor she was, and I explained that while she had been sure to set the intention that all negativity would be kept at bay, she had forgotten to affirm that all good easily flows into her field. I also expressed the importance of focusing on love and to always send love to the class, imagining everyone healthy and happy.

It is critical that we are clear about how we want the protective field to work, since the universe takes us quite literally. The following week my friend sent her students love, and allowed herself to be a channel of love throughout the entire evening. At first, she was surprised to see that five out of eight people in the class, including her, wore purple. She was also delighted to report that everyone was kinder than usual, which for some meant they were simply quieter. Others were even playful, which was totally out of character for this group. This story illustrates how critical it is to intend clearly the action of your protection tools, as well as infuse it with love.

Rule 4 — Come from a place of love. Very simply, love is the best protection there is. My guides have assured me that the best way to protect yourself is by infusing your aura with pink love energy and projecting it out to 60 feet around you in every direction. Better yet, call on your guides, angels, the ascended masters and all lights beings to fill and surround you with their love and light. The love energy transmutes lower energetic patterns and repels those not ready for transformation. The love surrounding you will act as a powerful magnet for all the good the universe has to offer. Like attract like and love is the highest vibration of all. I still white light, golden egg and cloak myself, when I feel necessary, but I always add the pink aura. I have to tell you that since I have added this to my daily routine, not only have I felt extremely protected, I have met some really wonderful people too! It is amazing what a little love can do.

Rule 5 — Call on Archangel Michael to amplify your protection. Archangel Michael loves to shield you from lower energies and see your spirit soar. All you have to do is call his name and ask him to protect you. Then just sit still for a moment and take a few deep breaths to give him time to do his work.

Rule 6 — Carry crystals to protect you and transmute energy for you. Crystals are such amazing energy conduits. This makes them the perfect companion to your protection work. There are a number of crystals that can be used for protection. Hematite, amber, amethyst, black tourmaline, black onyx and many other stones can be used to amplify your protection work.

I suggest going to a crystal shop and intuitively choosing the stones that will work best for you. You can choose the best stone not by looks, but by picking it up and sensing how it feels. Trust that what you are drawn to will be the best stone for you, as you will be bringing in a powerful new ally! Be sure to cleanse your stones regularly. You can do so with salt-water soaks and rinses, or by putting them in the ground, out in sunlight or moonlight. Just be sure to study your stones, because certain cleansing practices may not be appropriate for that particular stone. For example, you don’t want to set an amethyst out in the sun, because it will fade.

There are several additional practices I recommend:

• If you find that you have to go somewhere that you suspect will have some negativity brewing, send extra love and healing energy; in fact, I suggest you do this everywhere you and your loved ones go.

  Send a green ball of light from your heart, call in golden light of spirit, or simply affirm out loud that that place will be filled with love and light. The more intention that you set and emotion you infuse into it, the more powerful this practice will be.

  For spaces that seem to be in a perpetual place of darkness, you can set up a cleansing golden shower that heals and transmutes constantly above the space. Below the space, you can install a mini black hole to absorb any residual negativity and overflow. Affirm that this cleansing and healing will stay as long as it needs to. When you practice these exercises, not only are you protecting yourself from a world of disharmony, you are providing protection and healing for everyone associated with the space.

• When all else fails, and you know you are in the throes of an energy disturbance, call on Archangel Michael to cut any cords that are draining you and take a few deep breaths to allow him to do his work. You may feel an immediate sense of lightness or relief.
• Cords that have persisted for a while and are deep in nature may reconnect easily if other spiritual work is not done. In this case, it is best to enlist the help of a healer in your area that can help you or request a distance healing online to get the root of the situation.

Psychologist offers tips for maintaining balance in difficult times

It’s no wonder nearly one in 10 Americans suffers from depression.

Top risk factors include: being unable to work or unemployed; having no health insurance; and suffering from obesity, according to a Centers for Disease Control study. Unfortunately, those topics have dominated headlines for the past five years. What’s worse, by 2020, the World Health Organization estimates depression will be the second-most debilitating disease worldwide.

These negative emotions, along with sustained, excessive stress, can lead to depression, which now overshadows other problems for which patients seek help at my clinic.

Depression can be rooted in a number of problems, and those need to be addressed. Simply taking a pill is not usually effective treatment. Anger, fear and guilt can all be underlying causes, even when the person isn’t aware he’s experiencing those feelings.

A holistic treatment approach, which may or may not include medication, helps people overcome a bout of the debilitating illness, and learn techniques to manage it themselves.

People at risk of depression can work at maintaining their emotional equilibrium by counterbalancing negative feelings with optimism, hope and joy. This is most effective if they do this holistically, addressing the four main categories of human need.

By purposefully feeding the intellectual, relational, physical, and spiritual aspects of your life, you can achieve balance. Here are some suggestions:

• Intellectual: Be aware of what you’re feeding your mind. Try reading a positive, uplifting book, and setting aside time in your day to fill yourself up intellectually with constructive, encouraging messages. Be aware of what you are reading and listening to, and seek to counter the negative input we all get with positive influences.
• Relational: Think of a person you really enjoy talking with, someone who makes you feel good about yourself or someone who’s just fun to be around. Plan today to spend time with that person this week, even if it’s just for a moment or two. Make the effort to verbalize your appreciation for his or her positive presence in your day.
• Physical: Physical activity is a wonderful way of promoting emotional health. Engage in some mild exercise this week. Take a walk around the neighborhood. Stroll through a city park. The goals are to get your body moving and to allow you to focus on something other than yourself and your surroundings. Greet your neighbors, stop at the park and watch someone playing with his dog, or cheer at a Little League game. Intentionally open up your focus to include the broader world around you.
• Spiritual Support: Take some time to nourish your spirit. If you are a member of a religious organization, make sure to attend services this week. If you are not, listen to some religious or meditative music. Spend time in quiet reflection, meditation, or prayer. Intentionally engage in an activity that replenishes and reconnects your spirit.

If you are not depressed, but feel anxious and stressed, have trouble sleeping or find you are not content much of the time, it’s time to start taking care of yourself. Depression is painful and as debilitating as any other disease. Take steps to de-stress your life and to work on emotional balance before it gets worse.

The council said the study, “Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism,” appeared in April’s Pediatrics journal and was repeated by journalists nationwide with little if any critical examination. The study, issued just before Autism Month, compared medical records of 1,008 children born 1994-1999.

The CDC-funded study examined only antigens – not whole vaccines, not adjuvants such as aluminum or squalene, not preservatives such as Thimerosal in flu shots, nor any other vaccine ingredients. The study also did not factor in the differences in antigens’ immune triggering areas, or individual intensity of immune response. The study used no non-vaccinated control group, and worse, up to 25 percent of the control group may have had symptoms of autism themselves.

For years, study co-author Dr. Frank DeStefano has helped create statistical studies for the CDC that appear to refute the vaccine-autism causal link, and are released with heavy PR fanfare, according to the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota.

In December 17, 1999 Dr. Thomas Verstraeten analyzed the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink to determine if a relationship existed between the mercury-based preservative Thimerosal and autism. In an email to DeStefano and other CDC scientists, Verstraeten wrote that of the vaccine-autism statistical correlation, “It just won’t go away.”  And he concluded that “all the harm [to infants] is done in the first month.” Later CDC revisions all but eliminated the link.

“The Pediatrics antigen study is just more made-to-order tobacco science,” said Nancy Hokkanen of the Vaccine Safety Council of Minnesota. “The U.S. would not have a 1-in-50 autism rate now if the CDC had listened in 2000 when their researcher Dr. Verstraten said, ‘[W]e should use sound scientific argumentation and not let our standards be dictated by our desire to disprove an unpleasant theory.’”

Mark Blaxill, chairman of the Canary Party – founded in 2011 to address the crisis in the health of children and other vulnerable groups and to stand up for the victims of medical injuries, especially from vaccines — recently said that “despite significant scientific evidence showing connections between vaccines and autism, and deep problems with CDC’s vaccine safety science, few reporters dug deeper into the quality of this new study.”

“How deeply flawed was DeStefano’s analysis?” Blaxill asked. “Simply put, the study design could not have been more biased. …There are additional valid concerns about the study design that have been raised by others and the press should be reporting them. The Canary Party maintains that the CDC, as a government entity, is obligated to promote the official vaccine schedule, and therefore the media should critically review any CDC statements regarding vaccine safety.”

The Canary Party provides a list of peer-reviewed research performed by independent scientists documenting neural risks associated with vaccination — and a list of people with documented cases of vaccine damage. “We encourage reporters to question statements they are given” said Blaxill, “and to contact the doctors and scientists who are doing unconflicted work on the issue.”

What is Ayurveda? More and more people today are discovering, or more precisely, re-discovering, the ancient healing system of Ayurveda. Ayurveda (ayur meaning “life,” and veda meaning “knowledge”) was developed in ancient India thousands of years ago as a method of self-healing.

The Ayurvedic philosophy is based on the concepts and workings of the elements within and around us. Through Ayurveda, we reconnect with the earth, the heavens, one another and ourselves in a way that is deeply enriching, empowering and healing. Health in Ayurveda is defined as a movement towards svastha (sva meaning “Self,” and stha meaning “established in”) — to be established and centered in Oneself.

But even as people are becoming aware of and seeking out this healing tradition, many are just now becoming aware of the long-standing practice of massage available within the Ayurvedic system. While there are many methods of hands-on healing techniques, the most sacred is the abhyanga, or hot-oil massage.

Abhyanga is a massage in the traditional sense in that it is a hands-on therapeutic treatment with the use of proper draping within a tranquil environment. But there is much more to it!

Abhyanga means loving hands, and as such it is the quality of touch that is of foremost importance. It’s understood that gentle, human touch in and of itself is therapeutic. The hands of the practitioner become the conduit of prana (life-force healing energy) from the Divine.

The strokes of abhyanga are light and rhythmic. The particular sequence has been preserved, given and taught the same way for thousands of years. The massage strokes follow and awaken the energy body (chakras, meridians), which allows for prana to flow. The result is an experience of well-being that is deep and long-lasting.

Oil and herbs
Abhyanga utilizes warm, herbalized oil, traditionally sesame oil, but can be coconut, almond, olive, sunflower, or ghee, depending on a person’s constitution and/or imbalances.

While in traditional massage oil is used as a lubricant, in abhyanga the oil itself is part of the healing and is applied liberally from head to toe. The qualities inherent in the oil gently assist the body in its return to homeostasis (balance).

Herbs are an essential ingredient in abhyanga. They embody a natural intelligence and energy that the body understands and responds to. The particular herbs chosen for the abhyanga oil further assist the body and mind in healing. Many work on the level of mind, helping it to clear and calm, while other herbs are famous for their luminous effect on skin and hair. Through the application of the herbalized oil, these herbs travel deep into the body and mind, directly bypassing the digestive tract, for a wonderful calming effect.

Transformation of Self
At the onset of an abhyanga, sacred space is opened and an intention is created and stated. Through the session, you are guided gently from position to position. With each turn, you are letting go of all that is holding you back from experiencing your intention fully and completely. At the same time, each turn represents an opportunity to step more fully into who you are. In this way, abhyanga holds great potential for true, lasting transformation!

According to traditional Ayurvedic texts, this oil massage is nourishing, pacifies the doshas, relieves fatigue, provides stamina, pleasures the senses and improves sleep, enhances the complexion and the luster of the skin, promotes longevity and nourishes all parts of the body.

An abhyanga massage provides many of the same benefits of traditional massage, such as relaxation and release of toxins. But it does so by creating an environment in which the body releases at its own pace and in its own time. Abhyanga is not something done to you, but something done with you.

Ayurvedic massage leaves you with a tremendous sense of clarity and peace. Even after the massage, the effects continue as the herbs and oils reach deeper and subtler tissues of body and mind. In today’s fast-paced world, there is no greater tonic than an abhyanga massage for health, healing and balance!

Consider first the mechanical response to massage. The skillful application of the correct amount of friction or movement manipulates muscle fibers and stimulates fascia, tendons and ligaments to reduce adhesions and scar tissue. The resulting range-of-motion increases and reduction in pain can be measured and accurately reported.

Chronically tight muscles pull on the bones. Relaxing the muscles with massage improves posture; the resulting changes in skeletal structure can be measured.

Massage increases blood and lymph flow throughout the body, in much the same way exercise does, by squeezing the muscles, bringing nutrients and oxygen to the cells. It helps the body release toxins, expediting lymph to deliver the toxins to the liver, kidneys and skin for excretion. The increased flow of blood and lymph promotes healing of traumatized tissue, reduces injury, and speeds recovery of athletic injuries.

Athletes who use massage to prepare and recover from training sessions are able to measure improvements in strength, speed and agility. Some athletes replace an easy recovery workout with a vigorous massage: the primary purpose of both is simply to move the blood to flush the tissues so that recovery can be optimized for the next tough training session. The critical difference here is that any workout, even the easiest, has some training stress, but massage has the advantage of reducing stress in the body. Massage gets athletes to the next tough workout more prepared, with less stress.

A number of the body’s responses to massage are more subtle. Massage induces relaxation of the body and mind, reducing the damaging stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine (abundant with today’s busy and overstimulated lifestyles). Stress is a leading cause of disease. Relaxing feels good and is good for us.
Massage increases the availability of the mood-regulating hormone serotonin, which reduces pain and boosts mood and energy levels. CranioSacral Therapy boosts melatonin, critical in regulating sleep.

Endocrine optimization is important to the entire body. There are more neurotransmitters in the body below the shoulders than there are in the cranium, where the brain floats, and where it used to be thought all neurotransmitters resided. For example, there is a demonstrated link between eating disorders and serotonin. We know that 90 percent of serotonin is found in the gut. As reported in Psychology Today, four easy ways to boost serotonin are sunlight, exercise, remembering happy events…and massage! The brain/body link is profoundly facilitated by massage, flushing and balancing tissues, helping the entire person, including the immune system, skeletal structure and mood.

A more subtle benefit of massage is that of human touch. In today’s digital and more isolated society, intimate platonic contact with another caring human being is too often absent. Touch stimulates the production of the hormone oxytocin, which the body uses to facilitate emotional connections between people, to reduce anxiety. Touch – in the form of massage – helps reduce stress and calm the nervous system.

Massage affects the mind, body and spirit in a unique way, because few bodywork or medical sessions allow the therapist to spend an uninterrupted hour (or 90 minutes!) tending to your health and vitality. And the aromatherapy and music are designed to soothe the senses.

For an athlete, the smallest sensations of the body can be important to notice. Tracking the source of pain provides insight into imbalanced muscle groups or sides of the body. It’s often only when an athlete relaxes that he or she is able to discern previously undiscovered sources of training stress and correct troubling training patterns. Many clients are surprised to find tension in areas they didn’t know were inflamed. This improved body awareness can prevent injury, and is often the needed impetus to recover completely from injury.

Don’t take the therapist’s word that massage and bodywork as a foundation of a self-care routine has incredible value. Some Quantum clients have recently posted their own positive experiences with massage online (facebook.com/Quantum.Massage.Works):

• “I consider my sessions to be a big part of my overall health picture and I look forward to them. I feel the benefits long after the massage, as I have been able to deal with pain issues and strains much better.”
• “I had a sauna and massage yesterday, awesome combination. Scott’s work has helped me continue to stay active and feel good doing it.”

And then, there is the client who simply posted, “Ommmmmmassage!” In the end, maybe there are no words for how alive and healthy massage can make a person feel!

In my early 40s, my technique expanded to include energetic healing in the form of the Frequencies of Brilliance. I cherish massage and my experience with sacred touch. Although my work is now wholly focussed on a different modality, this does not devalue the importance of massage in my life.

I now teach the Frequencies of Brilliance in several countries. Leading these courses entails two weeks in a continually expanded state. After completion, my preferred method to re-establish my footing on the Earth plane is to receive a massage. As I follow the masseuse’s hands with my consciousness, inch by inch crossing my flesh, I am slowly reminded that I have two hands, two arms, two legs, and areas of tension and pleasure. Massage helps me anchor into my cells all the new energy accessed during the course and to relax as I become accustomed to a different equilibrium.

The physical and emotional benefits of massage are well documented. I’d like to suggest a third: the spiritual.

For those dedicated to a path to Enlightenment, the emphasis on non-physical states can sometimes lead to a devaluing of the body. We might sense a harsh contrast between ecstatic spiritual experiences and physical discomfort or pain. It is tempting to battle with our bodies, assuming that they block the path to higher states. We all are growing older and many are contending with illness. These challenges can lead us to miss the true gift, the miracle of the human body.

We can diffuse this conflict by applying the wise teaching of Buddha by accepting his invitation to non-dualistic thinking: I am an immortal, spiritual being, and I am body, with limitations, pain, and eventually, death. As we expand to encompass these two, seemingly contradictory truths, we anchor the sacred into our physical form.

An essential aspect of our third-dimensional experience is developing practices that support the body. When I decide to receive a massage, I am establishing a devotional practice. It is a non-verbal retreat from the world to nurture my inner focus and discover the current state of my musculature. I use the touch of the masseuse to locate where I am tense and, with my consciousness, gently nudge myself towards deep surrender.

Massage is a precious event where I stop all activity and enter into a deeply passive state. It is meditation; the movement of the hands across my body is the mantra, asking me to relax, trust and let go. Those who offer massage and those who receive it are answering a call to an ancient, sacred art.

I had finally been able to answer the call. It had been so very, very long.

Humble and grateful to be alone, I slowly and silently sauntered along the path strewn with the sheddings of this glorious unstained wilderness. Just me, in the company of my true companions, the trees, the birds, the four-leggeds, the rocks and stones and the ones who slithered and burrowed, each unburdened with ego and worries. The longer I stood motionless in one place, the more the forest came alive. A deer passed by, strutting as if to say, “Hello sister! I see you. I allow you…but know you must tread softly here, for this is my home. I was born here and birthed my own fawns here. It is here that I shall die and return to the earth. Tread softly.”

The hawk signaled from above, resting on the breezes, his arcs etching lazy circles in the morning sky. His call sent echoes deep inside my core, awakening my senses even further. In the silence, my heartbeat rose clearly from my chest as it pounded out a beat to match the sway of the tall trees in the high wind that had come to play with them on this perfect morn.

Moving forward along the path with great intention, taking my time, I was rewarded with a rocky overlook respite spot. And there below my high station, was what I had come to find…my ocean. With each lap of Mama Ocean’s waved tongue against the sandy shore, I felt my own internal waves kick in.

My saunter gave way to a sprint as I sailed down, down the path to greet the kindred spirits of the sea my soul was birthed within.

I ran onto the cushioned wet sand, my feet barely touching the familiar terrain as I bounded boldly to my liquid mother. Stopping just short of the waves, I halted, taking in the magnitude of the moment. My nose smelled the salt riding upon the heavy, humid air as I breathed it deeply into my lungs. I allowed myself to taste it again. “Hello mama, I am home,” I softly said as I spun around like a little girl imitating a ballerina. My soul was home once again.

I lingered long in the liquid love of my mother, at peace to the very core of my soul. The peace washed over me as the water soothed me. I was restored once again.

It was then I heard her say, “All right, Harmony, this concludes our session. You were out for a while. I will be here with you until you return fully. Take some deep breaths slowly in though your nose and out through your mouth. That’s it, now return to the room here with me and open your eyes. Ah, there you are. You took me with you, thank you! I swear I could smell the sea,” she said.

Looking up at her face, I smiled. “Wow, that was some massage today,” I whispered. “I returned to my soul’s home. Thank you.”

“My honor,” she gently spoke. “I will leave the room so you can get redressed. See you shortly.”

She exited the room and I sat up slowly, stretching and remembering my journey. I will be back soon, I thought to my restored self as I rose to don my clothes, as I heard the sound of my maternal surf singing in my ears.

Listen to “Edge Sage Pages with Harmony Green” at 11 a.m. Central on the third Sunday of each month, May 19, by calling 1.714.364.4750 or go to BlogTalkRadio.com/edgemagazine. Listen to all archives at Edgemagazine.net/edge-talk-radio.

You may feel these blockages in many ways: pain, tightness, aches, tension, stiffness, or soreness, anxiety, depression, low energy, digestive disorders, headaches, insomnia, or illness. Some common types of massage are: aromatherapy, reflexology, trigger point, shiatsu, acupressure, swedish, deep tissue, sports, neuromuscular, acupuncture, thai, rolfing, and pregnancy massage.

The ancient healing art of massage that dates back thousands of years can also be combined with other tools, such as essential oils, hot stones, tuning forks, music, and energy therapies for even more effective results. Massage helps reduce stress, anxiety, depression, relieve aches and pains, helps recover from injuries, illness, and increases general wellness.

Why is massage so effective? Massage is a holistic approach that doesn’t just focus on the site of the pain, but focuses on the entire body system. Massage helps your muscular, skeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, nervous and all the other systems of your body. The benefit of human touch also helps you feel connected and become more aware of your mind-body connection.

The attributes of massage by itself are far-reaching: relaxation, stress reduction or relief, detoxification, emotional release, as well as a complement to the treatment of disease and medical care, to name a few. So what could possibly be better than a massage?

In October, I was scheduled to give a two-hour workshop in the evening. It had been a very stress-filled day and when I got to the workshop site, I was exhausted and ready for bed. My very gracious hosts took me into a side room and told me to lie down on a healing table for a few minutes, just to relax and regroup. They said something about a mat with Amethyst Crystals, so I thought it couldn’t hurt.

Since having a car accident in 1994, I have carried a lot of stress and pain in my upper back, neck and shoulders. That day was no different. After lying on the mat for a few minutes, I felt myself breathing very deeply, filling my lungs fully and releasing. There was no question that I was relaxed. After twenty minutes, I sat up. I was cautioned that some people feel light-headed on rising, as I did. There was no way to describe how I was feeling. The closest description I think I can give is that I felt more aware of my light body.

A few minutes later, I felt rather energized, easily did the workshop and still had energy left over. One of the most noticeable effects was the relief I felt in my shoulders, neck and upper back. And equally as important was the fact that I began sleeping through the night.

I was so excited about this experience that I brought my husband in the following day. He has suffered from chronic back and neck pain due to spinal degeneration. He spent about thirty minutes on the Amethyst mat and, upon rising, stated that he had less pain in his body.

This mat I’m describing is called an Amethyst Bio-Mat. The science behind it utilizes Far Infrared Rays (FIR) that penetrate the physical body between six to eight inches, stimulating the healing and regeneration of nerves and muscle tissue. FIRs were discovered by NASA and are the safest, most beneficial waves of light.

The second component is the production of Negative Ions (NIs), sometimes called nature’s energizer. On a molecular level, NIs deliver a massage that accelerates and deepens all healing and cleansing processes. They also balance pH by decreasing acidity and activating the body’s entire cellular interaction, resulting in optimal body functions.

The third component is the transfer of FIRs and NIs utilizing Amethyst Quartz channels, which cover the entire surface of the Bio-Mat. Amethyst Quartz is a Super Conductor delivering a powerful supply of FIRs and a high vibrational frequency to the body. It is a powerful detoxifier and can help combat negative effects of addictions like alcohol, drugs or food. Amethyst Quartz also produces naturally occurring FIRs.

While I had never heard of the Amethyst Bio-Mat, after researching this device, I found that it is actually a medical device that has been used in spas and professional practitioner’s offices worldwide by acupuncturists, chiropractors and physical therapists.

Since purchasing and utilizing a Bio-Mat set for my massage practice, my clients have expressed relief from many chronic disorders, as well as experiencing better sleep, less anxiety, more relaxed muscles, more energy, and greater overall health. In some cases, a massage was no longer needed. And some clients who use the Bio-Mat regularly are enjoying a renewed sense of self, more vitality and flexibility, as well as less muscle and joint pain.

Putting this together with my own personal experience, I have come to the conclusion that in some cases, use of the Amethyst Bio-Mat can prove to be better than massage.

With my second session since being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, I received the same benefits — and more. This started my journey into massage therapy and its healing effects, with the integration of holistic healing into my life.

Years later, I am a certified massage therapist who helps heal the bodies of clients. Some people consider massage a luxury in a spa setting, but many massage clients can speak differently to that opinion.

Working in high-stress office jobs for more than thirty years, I was diagnosed with many of the repetitive movement patterns shared by my clients. That makes a difference to the tax accountants who value their chair massages during their high-stress times each year.

You can ask the retired gentleman who thought his hip would never allow him to play golf again how he felt on the 18th hole in September after three months of regular neuromuscular massage. Ask him if massage made a difference in his life.

You can ask the cerebral palsy client the value of regular deep tissue and clinical massage, which was able to help break down scar tissue. His leg muscles were rehabilitated and circulation improved so he has 95 percent fewer falls each year.

Ask the mother of a 2 year old and 3 month old of the value of massage as pain is relieved in her shoulder and neck, as well as in her inflammed tendons in the elbow. Ask if that improved her quality of her life.

Perhaps the client with Parkinson’s can tell you about the value of reducing medications because of more body control due to the mental healing benefits of massage.

The 76-year-old woman who received her first massage for relaxation will tell you the value of improved neck movement that she had not had for 16 years.

The 45-year-old man who plays two hours of soccer up to three times a week will speak of the value of massage for tired muscles and how it aids in injury prevention.

The fibromyalgia client receives gentle touch massage and now has improved range of motion in her shoulder after a rotator cuff injury, and now she doesn’t fear having a frozen shoulder.

Ask the accident victim who receives muscle relaxation to support the bone structure that her chiropractor is adjusting if walking and standing upright is different when her pain is reduced.

Each of these clients can share you a different value of therapeutic massage. Or just ask me. It changed my life. I was diagnosed 15 years ago with fibromyalgia and reflex sympathetic dystrophy and couldn’t give a handshake without pain. Now I am a clinical massage therapist, personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist, yoga therapist and owner of Shift Fitness and Massage, LLC.

Therapeutic massage is directed to a specific part of the body that has lost mobility, is impairing daily function and causing pain.

When muscles are injured by repetitive motion, simple movements such as bending, or traumatic injury such as falls or auto accidents, they are sick. Unless the muscle receives proper treatment, more invasive and expensive treatments may be necessary. Instead, a sick muscle can be healed with systematic, consistent therapeutic massage treatments by a trained professional who has learned specific techniques to bring muscles back to health.

Pain may be the first sign — or the last sign — of an injured muscle. Injured muscles constrict blood flow through the tissue, tightening and weakening it. Then injured muscles pinch the nerves running through them, creating pain, numbness or tingling in the extremities. Finally, an injured muscle puts strain on opposing muscles that work overtime to keep the body in balance. That can lead to another series of symptoms.

Seeking therapeutic massage treatment early can prevent more extensive and expensive treatments later. It also lowers or eliminates the need for pain medication.

Once muscles are over the trauma, specialized stretches help the muscle regain elasticity. Without the exercises, patients do not easily regain range of motion. For some people, that may mean an inability to continue working in their field, enjoying time with children or participating in sports activities.

Wellness massage therapy has value, too. It incorporates more modalities or parts of the body and creates a feeling of well-being. Clients feel relaxed and refreshed through a variety of massage experiences. Some massages have a fully-clothed option.

• Sound healing massage helps a patient enter into a state of peace and calm. It combines a Tibetan singing bowl, chimes, music and humming, in conjunction with hands-on massage, to relax muscle tissue and open blood vessels blocked by muscle knots. The end result is a fuller state of relaxation and well-being than traditional massage offers.
• Hot stone massages provide deep heating to areas of the back.
• Acu points cupping massages release tension in the fascia. Fascia is a sheet or band of fibrous connective tissue enveloping, separating or binding together muscles and other soft tissues in the body. Cupping massage also works to balance the body’s meridian system that improves over-all body function.
• Gua Sha, also known as dermal friction, is a scraping technique applied to the surface of lightly-oiled skin with a special piece of bone or stone called a medical board. Gua means to scrape or rub and sha is the term used to describe the appearance of a faint pink, or red, sand-like rash intentionally raised by the technique.
• Deep tissue massage targets deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue.
• Reflexology is pressure to the feet, hands or ears without oil or lotion that stimulates the organs in the body through reflex points.
• Chair massage typically lasts five to 20 minutes and is performed in a specially-designed chair while the patient is fully clothed.

Most of us know that therapeutic massage can reduce stress and pain in the body. But, how could it possibly change someone’s life? I am thinking about one of my clients who could name more than 80 things that it has changed in her life.

Sure, it started out as relieving pain and stress in her body, but because of this she started feeling better. Because she started feeling better, she started to move more. Because she was able to move more, she started getting out to do more and feeling better about herself. She started taking care of her body by eating more nutritious foods. Her health improved, so she had to take less of her medications. She lost weight and her skin and eyes brightened.

Today, she is a much happier and healthy person. She looks nothing like the person I first met. Because of all this, she decided she needed a better job. She applied and got the new job she wanted.

Sometimes you might wonder with your work how you can change people’s lives. I have at least one client who would be happy to tell you.

Traditional medical practices have focused on the body alone. Massage therapy focuses on mind, body and emotions. The Touch Research Institute in Florida, which is dedicated to studying the effects of touch therapy, has conducted more than 100 studies on the positive effects of massage therapy on many functions and medical conditions among many age groups. Significant research findings include:

• Enhanced growth (in pre-term infants)
• Diminished pain (fibromyalgia)
• Decreased autoimmune problems (increased pulmonary function in asthma and decreased glucose levels in diabetes)
• Enhanced immune function (increased natural killer cells in HIV and cancer)
• Enhanced alertness and performance (EEG pattern of alertness and better performance on math computations).

Many of these effects appear to be mediated by decreased stress hormones. And this is a very small sample of what has been studied with massage therapy.

In nearly all studies that have been conducted by the Touch Research Institute, participants have reported lower stress, anxiety, and depression, and improved sleep patterns. And the Touch Research Institute isn’t the only facility researching the benefits of massage therapy.

Many areas of health care are starting to realize the benefits of massage therapy and have incorporated it into regular health care:

• Athletes are using massage therapy more to help enhance performance, prevent injury and speed recovery time.
• Prenatal massage aids in keeping mom relaxed and calm which, in turn, better supports a developing fetus.
• Geriatric massage aids in supporting our elderly population through many health concerns that come with aging, as well as receiving the benefits of touch in and of itself.
• Special needs populations, including those who are wheelchair bound, can experience many muscular pains — and there are those who can’t tell you they are experiencing pain. Massage therapy helps to elevate their moods, decrease their pain, and improve their response to others.
• Oncology massage helps to temporarily relieve the symptoms of chemotherapy treatment. Symptoms can include nausea, fatigue, anxiety and depression, just to name a few.
• Accident victims who experience limited range of motion and pain from conditions, such as whiplash, thoracic outlet syndrome, and a whole host of other conditions, experience increased range of motion, decreased pain, and decreased anxiety and depression.

Insurance companies are now covering the cost of massage therapy, with certain limitations, for accident victims, not only because of the benefits of massage therapy, but because it often is less expensive than pharmaceutical counterparts.

The financial value of massage is also highly underestimated. I’ll use an example from my own experience. I was experiencing severe headaches, so I went to the doctor. The doctor prescribed me muscle relaxants. The total cost of that visit, at the time, was $135 for the office visit and another $50 for my prescription. I could’ve received two one-hour massage treatments for $120, saved myself $65, experienced reduced stress and anxiety (which were probably causing my muscle tension in the first place), and experienced this without the side effects of taking pharmaceuticals.

As a Holistic Health Practitioner and Massage Therapist, I encourage people to try holistic modalities first, including massage therapy, before resorting to more costly modalities. I’m not suggesting that massage therapy is a replacement for health care; I’m suggesting it is a great complement to incorporate into one’s health care regimen.

Her pioneering work is called the Tellington Method, or Tellington TTouch — a system of animal training, healing and communication that allows people to relate to animals in a deeper, more compassionate way — a way that furthers inter-species connection and honors the body, mind and spirit of both animals and their people. It is revered today as a respected alternative healing modality not only for companion pets, especially dogs and horses but for all people, young and old.

Dr. Tellington-Jones returns to the Twin Cities in May to demonstrate TTouch for Humans and offer training of TTouch for Humans and TTouch for Dogs:

• May 16: Dr. Tellington-Jones will demonstrate TTouch for You – the Tellington TTouch Method for humans – at 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Spirit United Church, 3204 Como Ave. SE, Minneapolis. A donation of $20 to benefit Pathways Health Crisis Center and Spirit United Church is requested. Includes a question/answer session and a booksigning.
• May 17: Dr. Tellington-Jones will provide training of TTouch for dogs at the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. The cost is $175. Contact Tellington Training at 800.854.8326 or email trainings@TellingtonTraining.com.
• May 18-19: Dr. Tellington-Jones will provide trainging of TTouch for You at the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. The cost is $395. Contact Tellington Training at 800.854.8326 or email kirsten@TellingtonTraining.com.

Through her non-profit organization, Animal Ambassadors International, she supports projects of children working with animals to enhance understanding, compassion and quality of life for both humans and animals. In 2007, she was inducted into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame. A year later, she received an Honorary Doctorate degree from the Wisdom University, a global learning community, and was granted the position of Director of the Institute for Interspecies Connection. She has written 15 books about various aspects of the Tellington Method. There are more than 1,300 practitioners of the Tellington Method in 29 countries, as well as Tellington Method Centers in Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S.

Dr. Tellington-Jones spoke with The Edge by phone while in Switzerland during her recent training schedule in Europe.

What inspired you to create Tellington Touch at the beginning and what role did intuition play in the process?
Dr. Linda Tellington-Jones: It’s quite fascinating actually. In 1960, my grandfather, whom I had never met, visited our thoroughbred farm in California and showed us Russian Gypsy massage, and my husband and I both became really interested in equine massage. At the time we had 90 broodmares, and we did a lot of endurance riding and showing. So we started using equine massage very successfully and wrote a book on it.

In 1975, I started a full year of professional training at the Humanistic Psychology Institute with Dr. Moshé Feldenkrais, and I did the Feldenkrais training, thinking I was going to use it for my riding students. Actually, in the second day of that training, I realized this was something I could develop for horses. So I used it very successfully and my second book came out in 1979 on using the Feldenkrais Method for horses. Feldenkrais is wonderful work based on activating unused neural pathways to the brain with non-habitual movements, and I did it very successfully with horses and people.

Not long afterward, I was working with a very difficult horse at a veterinary center in Delaware. This was a horse that couldn’t be touched without reacting strongly, pinning her ears back and being unhappy. When I put my hands on her, very quietly, she got really quiet. And the owner said, “What is your secret? Why is this horse so happy?”

I intuitively said, “Don’t worry about what I’m doing. Just put your hands on her shoulder and move the skin in a circle.”

I had already learned to trust my intuition, so when those words came out of my mouth, I thought, “That’s pretty interesting.” I didn’t tell her that I hadn’t done that before. And sure enough, she just moved the skin around in a circle and the mare got as quiet for her as she did for me. And I thought, “Whoa, that’s pretty interesting,” and had one of those epiphanies, because it takes years to learn Feldenkrais and anybody could learn this easily. That’s when I switched from Feldenkrais and started following these circles.

To better answer your question on intuition, in 1968 for my birthday, I had an astrological chart done in San Francisco from what was billed as the first computer-generated astrological chart. It said that in my lifetime, I would develop a type of communication that would spread around the world — and in order to do so, I would have to learn to trust my intuition.

I tried to find a definition for intuition. I looked in one of my husband’s books, a Rosicrucian book, as he was a Roscicrucian, and it said that intuition is unlearned knowledge. From then on, I really began to listen to information that came through.

Do you view Tellington Touch as a form of communication?
LTJ: Yes, the intention behind TTouch is this: The message that we send, verbal or non-verbal, is to remember your perfection at the cellular level.

In 1976 I was sitting in the Mövenpick Restaurant in Stuttgart, Germany, reading the book Man On His Nature, by Sir Charles Sherrington, a Nobel Prize winner. It was one of our textbooks in the Feldenkrais training. Cherrington wrote, “If you would cut out several inches of nerve, most of the time the two ends will find their way back together. How is this possible? Simple, because every cell in the body knows its function in the body.”

I thought, “Whoa!” I remember looking at my fingertips and thought, “All I have to do is put my hands on this animal or person and remind the cells of their potential for perfect function.” I just started following this whole concept by seeing the body as this collection of cells.

And something started to happen. Whether there was fear or injury, like a horse getting hit by a pole over a jump and having an injury — and it was strange, because I don’t know how this happened — but I began seeing that there was less light in areas where there was dysfunction, dis-ease, fear or injury.

That was in the ’70s. In 2006, I had the great privilege of spending a couple of hours with Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp at the International Institute of Biophysics. This is a world-famous lab that studies light in the cells. I did some TTouch on him, about three touches, and explained to him about the light I see. He said the light represents the communication between the cells. And that brought me back to that original astrological chart that said I would develop a type of communication that would spread around the world. And it now is around the world.

So that story is what keeps me totally juiced and constantly astounded, excited and passionate about this amazing body we live in — about the 50 trillion cells that make up these incredible bodies we have. We are a miracle. And the more we tune into this, and the more we appreciate it, the better the cells function. That’s something the Institute of HeartMath has found in their research.

Is your intention the key to the success of Tellington Touch, or does it work without the intention?
LTJ: It works without the intention. A child can do this.

We talk a lot about this, because for years we didn’t hold that intention. I feel that intention is embedded in the touches, in the circles, as a homeopathic, if you will. What we found in two studies with the Boulder Institute of Biofeedback with Anna Wise in the ’80s was that when you gently move the skin in a circle, one and one-quarter times around, that there is an activation that takes place in both hemispheres of the brain in a specific pattern of beta, alpha, theta and delta, which is called the Awakened Mind State by Maxwell Cade.

This is what I feel is happening. As we move the skin gently and activate both hemispheres and the feeling and emotional centers of the brain, we just become more caring human beings. That’s what excites me about sharing this work. We do a great deal of work with dogs, cats, horses and other animals, but because we work in this gentle, respectful way, we learn by working with the animals to treat our own fellow beings with understanding, tolerance, forgiveness, compassion and gratitude, which are keystones in the Tellington TTouch.

After working many years with animals, what led you to bring TTouch into the world of humans?
LTJ: In 1983, when I started following the path of the circle for horses, a month later while giving a workshop for people with horses with problems — there were about 100 people — I had the participants stand up and move through some of the basic touches on each other so they could feel the trust that develops between the person doing the touch on them and themselves. We also were seing a sense of well-being, so I wanted people to see what the touches felt like.

Two weeks later, I received two phone calls that made me realize the value of sharing this in groups working with horses.

One of the people who brought her horse was a massage therapist, for people, and she had an injury on the bottom of her foot that was keeping her from working. It was very painful. She asked me about it at the workshop. I told her to make one circle and a little more on the bottom of her foot and see what happens. A couple of weeks later she called. She was back at work and said her foot had healed very well.

Another person who attended the training went home and showed her husband. He had been suffering quite some time from a pain in his back. So she tried the circles on it and the pain went away.

That’s how we learned that TTouch reduces pain, enhances well-being, and brings a feeling of trust. What really excites me about this work is that anybody can do it — and you can do it to yourself.

So there is a similar response to TTouch among all animals, including people?
LTJ: Yes. What we do is watch for feedback. We’re looking for them to accept this work and lose their fear. If an animal or person is fearful, you can tell from their breath. For people, we actually have a wellness scale, from 1 to 10, and we begin with a very subtle touch and see if they like that pressure, or prefer it to be lighter or a little more pressure. We use the fingers and barely move the skin, usually through clothes, not on bare skin.

We call this the Empowerment Feedback Scale, because what this does is give the person receiving the touch control over the process. So many people don’t feel a lot of control over their lives. This process develops a new sense of listening, respecting and confidence.

I had an interesting experience, quite typical actually, a couple of years ago in Minneapolis when I was teaching this TTouch for Humans. A couple who had been married for more than 20 years were in the class. During the wrap up at the end of the session, the woman said she came because she was going to give her husband one last chance, because in all of their years of marriage he never one time listened to what she wanted. And now, for the first time, because of the Empowerment Feedback Scale, he could give her the type of feeling and touch that she wanted on her body. And they’re still together!

So this process provides value to interpersonal relationships.
LTJ: It is so wonderful. I’ll give you another example. A couple came to a training weekend I did in Wyoming. The husband could only stand the lightest pressure, a 2 out of 10 on the scale, on his body. And his wife couldn’t feel anything less than a 6 on the scale, which is a lot of pressure. So during the training, they found that each could give the other what they wanted. That makes such a huge difference in the relationship.

What chronic conditions have been helped by TTouch?
LTJ: It helps with long-standing pain in the back, neck, shoulders, hips and joints. Remember, this is always done with very gentle pressure. One of our big rules is that we do not create more pain! I believe the idea that you have to create pain to create healing is such a misunderstanding of cellular intelligence. We have a lot to learn.

How would you characterize the response to TTouch by health care professionals here and abroad?
LTJ: There’s so many new developments in medicine all the time, so why would you ever think this simple approach would work? It has to be experienced. It’s all about individuals in health care who realize that it works by experiencing it. Or, in the case of Austria, we had a 58-person well-being study financed by two doctors who had personally experienced the work.

But we can’t get our studies out there. We have this very solid study done on 58 people, but it can’t be published because so many of the medical journals — probably all of them — are controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. When there’s nothing to sell, like a drug, who’s going to back it?

Talk to us briefly about how TTouch is being used by parents and educators in working with children?
LTJ: It’s incredible. For a child in school who is nervous about exams, you can teach what we call the Heart Hug, moving the skin gently through the clothes one circle and a quarter, and it moves them from a place of fear and stress to a sense of well-being. We’ve also taught them how to do circles around their mouths to relieve their fears or anxieties about testing. The mouth is a direct connection to our limbic system, which controls our emotions.

During our training, we work with the personal tool from HeartMath called the emWave®. It provides wonderful feedback to determine when you are in heart coherence. We use it all the time in our classes for humans and animals. We’ve done many informal studies that show a child can do the circle and a quarter, and an adult can do it, when they are feeling great stress and then move into a sense of well-being.

Also, it’s extremely effective for children with hyperactivity. Last year in Ohio, I did a workshop at a senior center. During the second day of training, one of the nurses said she did the simple touches she just learned the day before on her very hyperactive 12-year-old son, and he went to sleep in ten minutes instead of the usual 45 minutes. Think of the value of that!

You can learn it from reading a book. You can learn it from reading an article.

What simple steps would you recommend to give our readers a sense of how to do TTouch?
LTJ: Put your hands gently on top of each other on your heart chakra on your chest. Imagine the face of the clock on your chest, with 12 on top and 6 toward the ground, with 3 on the left and 9 on the right as they would be on a clock. With your hands at 6 o’clock, move your hands gently, just barely moving the skin, around the clock up toward the 12, back to 6 o’clock and then one quarter more to 9 o’clock. And take a deep breath. Just think about something that makes you feel real good. If you’re feeling stressed, do the circles faster at first, and then take some deep breaths and do them more slowly.

This is what we call the TTouch Heart Hug. Studies that have been done reveal a release of stress and anxiety that comes from it. You can do it four times, and it only takes a couple of minutes at the most.

If you have a pain somewhere, put your fingers there very softly, with the lightest contact that does not cause pain while being able to gently move the skin one circle and one quarter. Try one direction, and then try the other, to see which you prefer. Just move each circle an eighth of an inch. Don’t repeat on one spot, because it doesn’t work the same.

For long-standing pain, we do a circle and a quarter stop at 9, or 3, depending which direction you are going take a breath, and then move back from 9 to 6, or 3 to 6. We’ve found that can really diminish long-standing pain, or even have it disappear.

Why do you dedicate your life to this path?
LTJ: I learn all the time and I get such pleasure sharing this work with people and animals. I was born to do this! And according to that astrological chart, there’s no question about that!

The people who are drawn to TTouch, and bring their dogs and their horses and their pets, are special people who are interested in reaching out and making a difference for others on the planet. That’s what interests me. It creates a state of happiness and joy and peace when we are able to reach out to others and make a difference in their lives.

What can those who come to see you in May in the Twin Cities expect to experience?
LTJ: A new sense of appreciation for themselves, their families and their fellow beings. A sense of joy. Giving touch with the miracle that we are, these bodies, these cells. You arrive at a new level from which to view yourself, your world and your fellow beings.

Resources:
TTouch Heart Hug directions

Around 1996, she took the four-day training of Tellington TTouch for humans taught by its founder, Dr. Tellington-Jones. At the time, Dr. Wendler worked as a registered nurse in a surgical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. “I thought the modality might be useful for patients there,” she said.

As a result of that experience, she proceeded to write her doctoral dissertation at the University of Colorado on caring touch, outlining a definition of caring touch that had not been present in nursing literature. She later collaborated with Dr. Tellington-Jones in writing a TTouch text for health care professionals that is still used today. It provides guidance in offering TTouch in the acute-care setting and includes chapters contributed by colleagues worldwide on applying TTouch in physical therapy, occupational therapy and addiction recovery.

After learning TTouch, Dr. Wendler returned to patients at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and found subtle ways to introduce TTouch during her regular nursing duties. Sometimes she would apply the gentle circles with her hands while washing them, helping them sit up in bed or while spending time with them bedside.

“I used it in a lot of situations to help people feel more connected to their healing bodies and also to be more alert, because sometimes they are sleepy recovering from the meds,” Dr. Wendler said. “You just help them be more in the present moment.

“I could see that it made a profound difference — different things in different ways for different patients. That’s when I began to get interested in the role of human touch in caring, from a nursing lens.”

She also brought the technique back to support her colleagues, her fellow nurses. “I see nurses on their feet, sometimes walking six to 10 miles a day. They’re exhausted at the end of a 12-hour shift. So whenever I was working, people would sign up during my personal lunch break and ask me to deliver TTouch to their back or their shoulder or foot, whatever was hurting on them on that particular night. They were always thrilled to see me coming into work, because they knew they could receive some treatment.”

Her anecdotal research on Tellington TTouch used in a health care setting was published through the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality and Healing.

“The intention behind Tellington Touch,” she said, “is to say hello to the cells and help them remember their perfection. Linda talks about awakening the energy inherent in every cell, for the cell’s use. You are respecting the sleeping, sometimes hidden, sometimes dormant, ability of the cell itself to be energetic and whole.”

Dr. Wendler currently is director of Nursing Research and Academic Partnerships at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois.

“As a researcher now, no longer providing direct patient care, I want to involve nurses,” she said. “Once they experience the intervention themselves, it’s going to be much easier for me to deliver the intervention to their patients. So I will probably do something intentional to introduce interested nurses to Tellington Touch.”

She’s interested in learning how much application of Tellington Touch is required to relieve stress and anxiety and restore optimal sleep and eating patterns for nurses who work long 12-hour shifts.

“There are a thousand questions I have about how this approach can help, because as a rule nurses lead pretty unhealthy lives,” she said. “It’s part of the nature of the beast. We eat poorly, we don’t exercise, we don’t sleep well. One of the things we don’t know is the correct dose of Tellington TTouch to bring us back to balance.”

She learned Tellington TTouch when her two sons were pre-teens. “One of the things I loved about Tellington TTouch is that my learning it and practicing it gave me an opportunity to provide human caring touch to my own sons at a time when boys and young men withdraw from their mothers. Both of them loved to experience Tellington Touch. Even today, as young men, they invite that kind of touch.

“It’s another way to communicate caring. Even when my kids were sullen and wanted to spend all of their time in their bedrooms, they would still allow me that access to them and give them an intentional opportunity to care for them in a way that nobody else could.”

Dr. Wendler says some of her best experiences with TTouch have been self-administered.

“Linda says some of the most powerful TTouch you give is the TTouch you give yourself,” she said. “She always encourages TTouch practitioners to do TTouch on themselves. My favorite is the Heart Hug, where you put your hands on your heart and do slow circles and a quarter when you are anxious.

“As a former critical care nurse and former Army officer, I don’t get anxious very much, but I do not like turbulence during airplane flights, especially when I am flying to Linda’s house, which happens to be in Hawaii, over all of that ocean. When I get anxious or sleepless, I will do the Heart Hugs to calm myself. They are very powerful. They help to stop that flow of adrenalin and panic and help me feel grounded and in control again. They help me feel comforted.”

Here are some key points:

• The breasts are prominently positioned around the heart chakra, which radiates unconditional love.
• They are not hidden away like other female organs, but clearly visible.
• The breasts are soft and round, with no noticeable defenses, suggesting qualities of trust and openness.
• Prolactin, the mothering hormone, promotes relaxation, loving protection, and nesting instincts.
• Oxytocin, the love hormone, encourages bonding, trust, and a decrease in fear and anxiety.

The purest energy flowing through the breasts is love, wherein love means a deep connection to every part of our existence, our eternal self. Surrounding the heart chakra as they do, the breasts provide a safe and comforting resting place where we can move our awareness between the realms of spirit and matter. Here we drink the abundant love that radiates from the heart chakra; thus cocooned, we surrender our hold on old paradigms of living, and with trust we allow new awareness to develop. It is impossible to imagine a more perfect place in which to surrender than in the soft embrace of the breasts of the Great Mother. Since love is the sustenance that allows us to move with ease between spirit and matter, it is the elixir of immortality.

This transition between different dimensions is similar to the shift between the states of sleeping and wakefulness. As we fall asleep, we surrender our attachment to the physical world and open ourselves to multidimensional experiences while our body rests. When we awaken, we leave behind the dream state and become fully functional and engaged here on Earth. The more secure and safe we feel, the easier it is to sleep.

If we were to see the three faces of the Great Mother, our own birth mother represents her transformational aspect, supplying a vitally important link between the Queen of Heaven and Mother Earth. Without maternal love as expressed by the breasts, it would be impossible for a soul to incarnate here on Earth and for a person to receive spiritual sustenance at various times during his or her life. The newborn, whose soul has lived within the watery spiritual realms for nine months, must adapt to living in the physical world. Through the nourishment provided by breast-feeding and cuddling, the infant starts to adjust to its earthly surroundings.

When the child is deemed ready, the mother weans him or her from the breast and anchors the child to the material world by offering food harvested from Mother Earth. In time, the child learns to stand on his or her own two feet, to make new friends outside the family, to develop a healthy sense of self, and to metaphorically leave the breast and create his or her own life.

For the Hawaiians, this emotional weaning traditionally occurs around the age of five, when, in many cultures, a child begins school. Until then, the upbringing of the child is often shared among the women in a family or tribe, so that they can all instill him or her with the love, confidence, and security the child needs to walk his or her own path, knowing that the nurturing of these collective breasts is always available should the need arise. For there are times in our life, when, like the pharaoh, our soul seeks inspiration and restoration within the ethereal and primordial waters of the Great Mother.

On these occasions, the shift in energy travels in the opposite direction, to that of the newborn baby, moving from the physical world to that of spirit. Instinctively, we move our awareness inward and away from our busy lives, creating an environment that represents the loving bosom of the Great Mother. We probably find ourselves spending more time in nature or surrounded by loving friends and family, intuitively drinking in the warmth of heartfelt connections, trust, and loving protection.

Though we do not attach to a physical breast as an infant does, we still enjoy the closeness of hugs and loving embraces, which bring us in contact with the heart chakra and breasts of a beloved person. As our outer energy becomes quiet, we become more aware of our own heart calling us home, wrapping us in tender love for ourselves.

This surrender into love, the elixir of immortality, allows our consciousness to move from the denser material world toward the lighter and finer frequency of the spirit realms, where our awareness is eternal and unrestricted. With the spirit now free, we become immersed in the pure waters of divine inspiration, receiving nurturance for the soul as it reconnects to its divine purpose. Refreshed and restored, the soul then begins its descent back to Mother Earth. It passes through the heart again, where insights are transformed into dreams, to eventually manifest as reality. Without this ability to set our spirit free, it is easy to become depressed, dis-spirited, dis-heartened, and uninspired. Without our willingness to plant our dreams firmly on this earth, we may become delusional, shallow, fanciful, schizophrenic, and unfulfilled.

A very similar path is taken during the sacred act of sex when we release our hold on the physical world and, through an orgasmic release, surrender into a pure state of bliss. However, if sexual arousal is not associated with intimacy and the opening of the heart — whether with another person or alone in an act of self-pleasuring — then the orgasm will remain on the physical level, with little or no restoration for the soul. Fortunately, we don’t need to have an orgasm to feel ourselves being transported to the pure waters of the Great Mother; all we need is love.

It’s time for women to acknowledge that without the love that emanates from their breasts, the evolution of humanity is doomed. Creative ideas and dreams will fail to be downloaded onto Earth, and the soul will be unable to return to the spiritual realms for restoration and renewal. For such love to flow, as women we need to develop a pride in our breasts that goes far beyond their appearance. As this happens, vulnerability and softness become strengths, facets of one of the most powerful forces in the world: love. As a woman’s self-love expands, her enjoyment of the pleasures of Mother Earth will increase, while at the same time she will experience a heightened sensitivity to the nonphysical, spiritual realms. Then and only then will she be ready to assist in another person’s sacred transformation, and then only if that person genuinely wishes to reconnect to his or her soul’s dreams.

In my experience, it’s one of those jobs you can only love when it happens spontaneously. You know, like you went in there just for one thing. Maybe you didn’t find it right away, so you started moving things around a bit – where the heck did I put that anyway? – and you’re digging through the piles of stuff on the shelves or in boxes or baskets on the floor.

Suddenly, there you are, raking out the closet, clothes are flying everywhere, a pile to give away, a pile that needs mending or washing. And then there’s the stuff to try on because you’re a different size now, one way or the other, or you want to be, or fear you’re going to be, so what do you bring out next: your piles of fat clothes or skinny clothes or your in-between clothes? Because you’re in the midst of moving up or down the scale.

And then there’s all the other stuff that’s in there. Stored things, books and papers, a huge pile of stuff to chuck in the bin. And then there are all those odd bits of weird stuff that you know you might need or want some day, but they just never found homes. You know, those things you frown at, stare at, carry around the house for a while, seeking places for them to live, muttering, “What the heck am I supposed to do with this?” before discovering that you’ve still not got an answer for that, and you put it in the closet – “for now.”

Perhaps this will be the time you find homes for some of it and if you do, you’re ever so pleased with yourself. But in the meantime, there you are, hurling things into piles, running for the bin bags, hauling stuff out to the rubbish, or bagging it up for the charity shop.

And oh, it feels so great to get rid of all those unwanted items. Every single one of them holds energy, and that energy is negative and builds up in your house, which then adversely affects you, even if you aren’t particularly aware of it. Some of us feel it more than others. Being a psychic and medium, I am extremely sensitive to the energy in my environment and a lot of “dead energy” that comes with unused or unwanted items can really weigh me down and make me feel unwell.

Okay, so there you are cleaning and sorting and chucking stuff. Now you’re really in the zone! You’re a person possessed! You’ve tackled that closet and gotten rid of the energy associated with old, unwanted, unnecessary belongings and you feel so much better already; you move on to the rest of the room, or perhaps other closets, drawers, shelves and storage spaces. And doesn’t it feel fantastic? Yes! You’re probably even singing or humming, maybe you’ve cranked up some tunes. You might even be dancing around (but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone I saw you singing into that deodorant can). Amazing, isn’t it? You were dragging your sorry behind all over the house half an hour ago, and suddenly you’re wired for sound and have no idea where all this energy came from!

But who cares? It feels great and you’re making progress so whatever else you were doing when you got sidetracked with closet cleaning will just have to wait! After all, you’ve been meaning to do this for…how long?

When you get these sudden bursts of energy that have you tearing apart your house, decluttering and reorganizing, they are usually brought about by a decluttering and a reorganizing in you. Our environments reflect what’s going on inside us. If there is chaos and disorganization on the outside, you can bet it’s the same on the inside. A sterile, frighteningly neat and tidy home reflects a need for order and control that stems from fear and anxiety that are felt on the inside.

Every once in a while, we need a good decluttering in our homes, and certainly inside ourselves, too. Every once in a while, it’s good to go through what we need, what we don’t, what’s important to us, what should stay, what must go – whether we’re talking about the stuff in our houses, or the beliefs, desires, what we want – or don’t want – in ourselves. A little personal re-evaluation from time to time is a great thing to experience, and when we find ourselves in the throes of it, whether by circumstance or by choice, we will often find ourselves suddenly compelled to go through the closets and cupboards as we make our homes reflect our inner selves.

Sometimes, decluttering the closets is the signal that we’re ready to clean house on the inside, too, or that changes have been going on somewhere in there, whether we’ve been particularly aware of them or not.

I absolutely love cleaning out the cupboards and raking out all kinds of stuff I no longer need or want – whether in my home or in myself. I love getting rid of negative energy, cleansing my home and my aura regularly by being sure I’m not holding onto anything I don’t want or need. I like to take stock of what I have and what I need – who I am and who I’m not. What to change and what to keep, whether in my house, or in myself. It’s the only way I can keep my world (both inner and outer) functioning at maximum capacity like a well-oiled machine.

Hmmmm…I don’t know about you, but I feel a cleaning spree coming on…. Better haul out the bin bags!

As the wheel of the year turns once again toward spring, a renewed sense of creativity enters our hearts. That which has been dormant in the dreamtime of winter awakens and springs to life. The soil warms and new leaves unfurl. We are energized to explore, create and grow.

One of the most important learning journeys of my life is to walk in beauty, balance and harmony. This has required that I develop authentic relationships with myself, Great Spirit, and all my relations. Since I was a little girl, the doorway to my heart and personal transformation has always been found in nature and the garden. Nature has been the most unlikely of teachers, providing me with profound wisdom: insects and related creatures, like Earthworm and Spider.

This wisdom can be found in a new book that I co-authored with Linda Star Wolf entitled Sacred Medicine of Bee, Butterfly, Earthworm, and Spider: Shamanic Teachers of the Instar Medicine Wheel. “Instar” is a scientific term which refers to the stages of transformation for insects. Star Wolf and I have developed an innovative medicine wheel that integrates the wisdom of the insect world: illuminating our path forward into soulful transformation and sacred purpose.

Insects are among Earth’s most ancient creatures, dating back hundreds of millions of years. They have evolved through our planet’s greatest shifts and are still thriving today. As we face this current transformative time, insects have great shamanic wisdom to teach humanity. More than any other creature, insects embody transformation at the deepest levels of their beings.

Did you know that, before learning to fly, Dragonfly spends its life wingless beneath the water? Honeybee gathers nectar and pollen, transforming them into nourishing foods for future generations of the hive. As you consider the blossoms of this year’s garden, it is the Earthworm who prepares the way for you: recycling the old into new earth, establishing a fertile foundation for future growth.

Insects are the key connectors that allow ecosystems to thrive. Pollinators are essential for growing the food that we eat. From seed to blossom to fruit, the transformational dance of life is illuminated by the insect world. As Honeybees face Colony Collapse Disorder, and other insects are threatened by loss of habitat and pesticides, humanity must open our eyes to the wisdom and needs of our insect brothers and sisters.

At this time on our planet, we need all of us. We each have sacred wisdom, creativity and medicine to share. To paraphrase Gandhi, we need to be the change we wish to see in the world. This requires that we honor our authentic truths and commit to unlocking and embodying our potential. To be “real” human beings, we need to be fully present and grounded in our bodies, so that we can bring through the higher love and wisdom of our spiritual selves. Many of us have past wounds, trauma or limiting beliefs that block us from being fully present. The Instar Medicine Wheel illuminates this path of transformation, so that we can Be Here Now: loving, creating and connecting as soulful human beings.

Perhaps, at certain points in your life, you found yourself in the darkness, breaking down the old. Through this, you may have discovered a gift for transmuting whatever no longer serves you into new forms, fertile with potential for the future. At another time, you may have withdrawn from the outside world, needing to turn within like Butterfly — to dissolve into yourself, emerging sometime later more radiant than before. Just like Caterpillar dissolving within the chrysalis, when we are breaking down we are really breaking through.

In times of transformation, we all yearn for this grace. In the spirit of Grandmother Spider, we need our wise elders and weavers to vision the future and plant the seeds that will sustain the next generations. We need our pollen-spangled midwives tending the hives and sweet lovers meeting in sacred union, nurturing new co-creations. Like Earthworm, we need to remain humble, close to the earth, as we learn how to bring the Divine through our hearts in collective service. We need to find new winged expressions of our authentic selves like Butterfly. We need those who sustain life as an energetic conduit, connecting unity and diversity through the heart. We need shamanic journeyers who delve into the depths of initiation, and soaring flyers into the highest dimensions of consciousness.

To paraphrase Teilhard de Chardin, insects are wayshowers: teaching us how to be spiritual beings having a human experience — to be fully embodied and fully Divine as we walk our human life paths. It is often the smallest or most unexpected teachers who offer us our most profound lessons.

In the book, we explore the transformative wisdom of the Instar Medicine Wheel with a variety of experiential practices, journeys, energizing artwork, and a meditation CD filled with an angelic choir of crickets that will activate your own journey of transformation. Insects are often overlooked as wisdom keepers, due to negative associations and humanity’s disconnection from nature and our own inner wildness. In Sacred Medicine, we explore ideas for creating new, harmonic relationships with insects and supporting their important work. Imagine building an Instar Medicine Wheel garden that builds habitat for pollinating insects, and also creates a sacred space for you to connect with nature.

Beginning this spring, I will be teaching a series of one-day Instar Medicine Wheel transformational workshops in the Twin Cities that combine Shamanic Breathwork™, dance, art-making, personal exploration, and ceremony to renew our beautiful planet. The basis of our work together will be supporting your transformation, so that you can fully embody your sacred purpose and expand your visionary abilities. Imagine using powerful music, the breath, movement and healing energy work to embody Butterfly’s dance of metamorphosis, weave the Web of Life, or climb the World Tree with Cicada!

Just like the stars in the sky, we are surrounded by a vast network of grace here on Earth. Insects are always with us: building, transforming, pollinating, and enriching our lives with their sacred wisdom. We just need to pay attention and listen.

I didn’t grow up going to church with my family, but I did grow up to have a strong faith that has provided me with the hope, help, joy, peace and intuitive connection that has navigated me down the river of life. My father was one of life’s religious independents. Close-mouthed about his own spirituality, he was however fervent in his belief that I should choose my own religious brand — and I did.

I attended convent school at 5 and hung with the nuns, got myself christened and confirmed as an Anglican with my parents standing in as godparents (since I had no relatives nearby, the vicar okayed it ) at age 11, joined the church of Religious Science at 29 and was working as a medium and healer by 35.

Despite the differences in liturgy, I loved all of my religious homes — the community and connection they provided and the spiritual learning they imparted. But most importantly, I appreciated the journey that led me from church door to church door. Dad blessed me with the freedom to explore my faith, and if he were alive today I’d say, “Dad, there are many paths to God.” But I think he probably knew that all along!

Currently some 20 percent of Americans and 30 percent of all adults under 30 do not affiliate with any particular religion or faith, according to researchers at the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at the University of California, Berkeley. That number has doubled since 1990, which means that more parents than ever will (like my father before them) walk their children down a spiritual path less traveled by. And that’s absolutely wonderful — as long as the walk does happen.

You see, nurturing our children’s spirituality is not just the right thing to do, it’s a gift. As Lisa Miller, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College and researcher on the effects of spirituality, notes, “Kids who develop a sense of a loving higher power or a guiding force — whether they call it God, creator, Allah, or simply “loving universe” — are 80 percent less likely to suffer major depression and 50 percent less likely to suffer from substance abuse as teens.” Research by the University of British Columbia also found that when kids have an understanding of something greater than themselves, it “enhances (their) sense of meaning and purpose, and reinforces their connections to their community and to other people.”

So, how do parents who don’t hold a degree in theology and don’t want to make church attendance mandatory help their kids attune to the divine? David Elkind, Ph.D., Professor of Child Study at Tufts University, identifies three main stages of faith development in children. By utilizing this framework, we can implement age-appropriate activities that will ensure our kids blossom at home — heart, mind and soul.

• The “Global” stage (ages 0-7)
Elkind: “Until age 6 or 7, most children can’t conceptualize the differences between faiths, but they can appreciate spiritual symbols and rituals.”

Your Steps: Introduce blessings at the dinner table, words of gratitude at bedtime and say a prayer or donate a gift (toy or book) for someone in need. Read with stories with a lesson (think Angel stories, Fairy Tales or religious stories) and create heart and spirit art (e.g., an “I love you” card for grandma) that helps your child express their love, compassion and joy.

• The “Concrete” stage (ages 8-12)
Elkind: “Kids are beginning to develop a greater sense of spiritual identity based on personal experience and any religious practice. Rituals continue to help kids understand spiritual themes.”

Your Steps: Share your beliefs and values with your child through books, through movies, through your personal stories. Live your values with family volunteerism, acts of kindness and loving words. What kids see, they acquire. Visit different spiritual centers as a family and engage your spirited kid in reflective inquiry about their experience and what they’ve learned. Encourage kids to think about those big questions like, “Who am I? How do I make a difference in the world? Who is God? What would God do in this situation? What happens when we die?” And rather than impose your answers, let your spirited kids turn inward and reach for their own wisdom.

• The “Personal Connection” stage (ages 13-18)
Elkind: “Now a feeling of personal closeness to God often emerges, the budding of what feels like an actual relationship.”

Your Steps: Talk to your teen about the way you connect to God (e.g., in nature, in loving friendships, through prayer and meditation) and share experiences. Encourage your teen to write in a journal and support self-reflection and higher soul connection. Support spiritual independence — let her attend that new church with a friend, let him read different spiritual texts; give them permission to disagree with you! Allow your teen to implement a new family ritual (donate birthday gifts to those in need, deliver meals at Thanksgiving) and voice appreciation for the way that your teenager helps others, in mind, body and spirit.

Nurturing our children’s spirituality (their beliefs and behaviors) is a parent’s prerogative and one we should embrace for our children’s highest good. And whether we read the Bible, the Torah or the Koran or see God in nature or in everything, it all boils down to one basic principle: love. When we teach our children to live a life of love, of compassion, of understanding (for others and for themselves), we provide them with the very best education — and one that is divine.

Resources

• • Children’s Development of Spirituality
• • Teaching Children About Spirituality
• • Spiritual Solutions — Teaching Spirituality to Children
• • Teaching Spirituality to Our Children
• • Raising Spiritual Kids
• • Encouraging Kids’ Spirituality

It’s all about aloha. To the uninitiated, it simply means hello or goodbye, but as our guides at to-hawaii.com say, it means much more: “Aloha is the most Hawaiian word…it also means love and affection…in Hawaii…you are treated with aloha everywhere.

Some say the deeper truth, as given by the island elders, is that aloha is an invocation of the Divine, acknowledging the Divinity that dwells with and without.

In response to all ills that plague our great nation, may all Americans embrace aloha as a national way of being.

I woke up this morning planning to write about the controlling interests in this country and how they are taking “big” to a new level: Big Pharma controlling American health care; Big Oil controlling American energy; Big Sugar and Big Corn controlling American food; Big Money controlling American politics; and Big Guns controlling American’s sense of security at every turn.

And then, in my mind I heard Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s historic address, that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Surprisingly, as I sat down to write, only one word came to mind: Aloha. That sense of peace and love that evades all mental definition is a way of being — in relationship to ourselves, each other and the planet itself.

Nothing more needs to be said. Nothing more needs to be done. May each of us embrace the state of aloha and experience all that aloha brings to each of us.

Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19)…The May 9 eclipse pushes you to define what you value most in life. We tend to think of wealth in terms of money and what it can buy, but I would argue that true wealth consists of the time and freedom to do what you want — and the wisdom to know what would bring you joy. Let this be the prayer of your soul.

Taurus (Apr. 20-May 20)…How do you be fully you, and yet enjoy the benefits of rich partnership? You could be tempted to frame this as a battle of either/or, but see if you can shift to a more creative perspective. Yes, your relationship needs to make room for you to do what you love. But the more you honor your talent by actively engaging in it, the more space you open in your relationships.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)…Consciously take it easy in the first half of the month. Clear away the old, rest up, and let life flow at its own weird pace. Once Mercury moves into your sign on the 15th, you’re back in the driver’s seat and accelerating fast. A big relationship development seems imminent and everybody seems to want what you have to offer.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)…When you’ve nurtured a dream for so long, it’s easy to get stuck in believing you need it to come true in order for you to be happy, successful, and fulfilled. May’s energy offers you the opportunity to see your life’s journey in a new light. What might happen if you actually owned just how much you’ve already accomplished — and then gave yourself permission to dream a new dream based on who you are now?

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)…It’s time to get serious about doing what you came here to do. The solar eclipse in your career house on May 9 pushes you to step into your life’s work at a new level of intentionality and purpose. If you experience resistance, look at your family of origin patterns. Have you unconsciously adopted a parent’s failures or negative beliefs as your own?

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)…A major belief about your life and what’s possible in it gets challenged at the May 9 eclipse. Ask what you would do differently if you really believed in yourself, because a big opportunity is trying to pop into your life this month. As Wayne Dyer once said, “You’ll see it when you believe it” — not the other way around.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)…Psychologist Alice Miller said the tragedy of life is that we can never go back and fix what was broken in childhood. But most of us keep trying to do just that, hoping the next relationship will be the one that finally heals us. Flip the script this month and ask what you would do — and who you would do it with — if you really believed you already had everything you needed within you.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)…This month marks a turning point in a key relationship. The May 9 eclipse gives you a very clear picture of what you do not want anymore and clears the decks for something newer and better. But remember that your most important relationship is the one you have with yourself. Step up and take responsibility for becoming the person you want to be.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)…You seem to be struggling a bit to start the month, but once you make it through the May 9 eclipse, life starts looking pretty delicious. You’ve got tremendous relationship mojo and the lunar eclipse in your sign on the 25th brings a nice revelation about just how far you’ve come on your evolutionary journey.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)…Life just keeps insisting that you rid yourself of the unhealthy emotional patterns and irrational fears you inherited from your family of origin. You could really morph into a creative dynamo this month if you’re willing to dig up and examine the roots of your own particular dysfunction.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)…A revelation about a parent or about the truth of what you experienced in childhood could shake you to the core, but what emerges from this is a new sense of security and even luxury. If you act on this opportunity to ground yourself in the reality of the physical world you will see your thoughts become truly productive.

Pisces (Feb. 19-Mar. 20)…If thoughts become things, then you obviously want to have the best thoughts possible. Yes, your dream world is much lighter and sweeter than the gravity-laden consensus reality. But what if you were able to identify and challenge an old belief that says gravity is painful and materiality equals restriction? Dare to embrace the beauty of the everyday — and watch your dreams become reality.

Listen to “Edge Astrology with D.K. Brainard” at 6 p.m. Central on the first Wednesday of each month, May 1, by calling 1.714.364.4750 or go to BlogTalkRadio.com/edgemagazine. Listen to all archives at Edgemagazine.net/edge-talk-radio.

1. You’re perfect just the way you are. Sometimes we see you worry about silly things and we think you should worry less and nap more. It works for us. And we’ll even nap with you – what a deal!

2. We love it when you let us sleep in your chair. Even when you need to sit there, you never move us – you just balance your butt on the very edge of the chair so you don’t disturb us. You are kind…and well-trained.

3. We know you want develop a consistent yoga routine and we think that’s a great idea. Stretching feels fantastic and we just want you to know we’re here to help you. You know how we are – the minute you sit on the floor, we climb all over you. Sometimes this annoys you, but we are only trying to help you master the poses. You’re welcome.

4. Drink more water. Trust us – it’s good for you. I know your water doesn’t come from a fancy fountain like ours does, but that faucet is pretty cool. I even enjoy a drink from it now and again. Plus, when you drink water, we get to steal licks from your cup. I know, I know, but it’s so tasty and a little bit naughty. We like to see what we can get away with. You get the point: drink more water.

5. We also think you should read more books. We notice you look more relaxed when you read, and we like that. Additionally, you reading a book means we’re charged with rubbing our faces all over it and lying on top of it, forcing you to eventually stop reading and pay lots and lots of attention to us. So please read, relax, but focus most of your energy on us.

6. We have a relaxation tip for you: Have you tried napping on a pile of warm laundry? It’s just the best! Try a load of towels – you’ll never go back.

7. Don’t feel guilty about eating a treat now and again. In fact, get really excited about it! You see us, right? Do you notice how we race around the kitchen and cheer when you show us the treat jar? You need to do some racing and cheering over cupcakes. We’ll grab the camera.

8. We love it when you play with us! We think sometimes you should close that computer-thingy and play more often – and not just with us! Take a walk, go swimming, meet friends for tea, pull out the sewing machine. And sometimes, we want to be your only laptop.

Hopefully you will find our suggestions helpful. We are smart kitties and know how to live happy and balanced lives and we want that for you, too! Thank you for everything you do for us. We don’t even mind a camera in our faces now and again – we know that makes you happy. Not to create more work for you, but we would like to suggest that you do a few more loads of laundry each week. What? You read #6, right?

Happy Mother’s Day! Love, Saffy, Cosmo and Phoebe

Halloween, for example, has its roots in Samhain (pronounced Sow-Ehn). It falls between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. One of the features of Samhain is the belief that the veil between the worlds is the thinnest, and is a time for communion with otherworldly spirits.

The pagan holiday between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice is called Beltane, or more commonly Mayday. There is a reason that “plowing the fields” is a sexual euphemism, as it was once believed that having intercourse in the fields brought fertility to the crops. This was a common practice that became ritualized on Beltane.

This ritualization became the Maypole Dance. The Maypole represents the phallus of the God, who was born at Yule and has now reached maturity. The wreath at the top represents the yoni of the Goddess, who has blossomed into womanhood. The dancers weave ribbons around the pole representing the joining of the two forces, for together, they create life.

Beltane marks the in-breath, greening, stimulating and refreshing time of year that is the counterpoint to Samhain, the out-breath, decaying, and darkening time of year. It is also believed that the veil between the worlds thins at Beltane and that faerie activity is at its strongest.

Paganism, at its heart, is rooted in Nature. The ancients built their spirituality by observing Nature. Sowing seeds in the earth produces crops. Calving season always comes after mating season. Examples of male and female principles joining to produce life were all around them. The ancients recognized this powerful force and realized that by harnessing the power of Nature or Creation through sex, they could channel it into other aspects of their lives.

Is it any wonder that certain religions have tried so hard to suppress human sexuality? If everyone realized they could manipulate their reality through sex, they would be empowered beyond what the religion could provide. Thus, there has been a smear campaign on lust, passion, and sexuality as being a baser quality of man to be overcome, suppressed, and tightly controlled.

Enter into present times, and one can’t help but notice the prevalence of sexual diseases, both physical and psychological. If one is to believe that disease stems from a psychological or energetic root, you can see how successful the campaign against sexuality was. Even the way we are taught about sex has been scrubbed clean of any magic or intimacy and we are taught to abstain lest the worst happen.

I believe that the time has come for us to reclaim what has been stolen. The magickal medicine I would like to offer to that end is the following meditation:

In a seated position, breathe in and imagine your breath extending to your pelvis. At the same time tighten your perineum muscles (Your perineum lies between your genitals and your anus). Imagine you are drawing energy up from your perineum through your spine to your crown. With your out-breath imagine the energy cascading down from your crown along the outside of your body down to your feet, and then up again with the in-breath. The in-breath is the male principle, the out-breath female.

As you do this meditation, imagine you are the center of an onion and each breath clears a layer of the onion. Start with your body, clearing every cell, then move on to your history, and clear your memories. Then move on to your parents, your family, and their shared history. Go as far back as you can imagine, clearing and blessing each layer until you touch the ancients. Imagine the joy they might have had for engaging in the act of creation and claim it for yourself.

If we all did this meditation, intending together to clear and reclaim, would it be possible for cultural disgust to be transformed into something sacred?

This Beltane, celebrate your sexuality and stay sexy.

As I re-read my invitation from the King’s secret agent, I pondered why such ruses are so attractive. There is a shred of truth in every lie. On a subconscious level, we all realize that there is a realm of vast wealth waiting for us to claim it. Our soul recognizes that the world we walk daily is definitely not the kingdom of heaven and we long to return to the domain of which we retain a faint but ecstatic memory. The idea that we are heir to a great estate vibrates at a cellular level. So when the email or letter arrives informing us that our hidden estate is now available, we perk up. In a way, it’s true. We are heirs to a great kingdom. Not the one the scammers are selling us. The one Jesus referred to when he told his inquisitors, “My kingdom is not of this world.”

Romantic love stories also embody a spark of truth. We all want to enjoy the bliss of true relationship — and rightfully so. Love is our natural state. Yet, most of us have drifted far from that state, so we feel like the ashen-cheeked Cinderella scrubbing floors under the whip of wicked stepsisters. In the midst of our toil we wish, hope, pray, and know that a dashing Prince or Princess Charming will scoop us up on a white horse, sweep us away from our misery and restore us to the castle where we belong. There we will be pampered with plush beds, royal gardens, and servants feeding us grapes. A childish flight of imagination? On one level, for sure.

Yet, on another level, part of us knows we deserve true love. We know that the meager substitutes for love for which we have settled definitely cannot be it. So we turn to an endless stream of love songs, novels, and movies to transport us to the realm our heart desires and give us even the briefest taste of how we know it could be and should be.

So in a way, fairy tales are true. They remind us of who we are and what we deserve. The tricky part is how to get there. If you are depending on winning the lottery to pay off your credit card bills or for Mr. or Ms. Right to liberate you from your boring relationship, you might have a long wait. You might even need to get a job or deepen your communication with your current partner.

When my friend Sandy’s trust fund ran out, she struggled to pay her bills. Sandy would do anything for money except get a job. She prayed, affirmed, visualized, created a treasure map, feng shui’d her house, painted her door red, went to prosperity workshops, tithed, and called upon ascended masters. She just didn’t want to do anything to earn money. Friends offered her jobs, but she turned them down. She expected the universe to support her, but she didn’t want to participate in the process. Sandy was absolutely correct in expecting the universe to support her. She just didn’t understand that the money could come through her as well as to her.

In a way, living in the world surpasses the magic of fairy tales. There is as much wonder and sparkle here — maybe more — as in the bedtime stories you were read. God does not hide in remote kingdoms above the clouds. God is revealed by lifting our mundane activities to a level of sacredness. When you follow joy, you experience heaven on earth. As Frederick Buechner nobly declared, “To find our calling is to find the intersection between our own deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger.”

During the last few decades, angels have become very popular. Lots of people use angel cards, shop at angel paraphernalia stores, and become certified angel practitioners. I personally believe in angels and I call upon them. Yet, dependence on angels is exceeded only by being an angel. God will not save the world through winged, haloed entities descending from the clouds. God will save the world through people like you and me. People who sometimes get irritable, eat extra desserts, and have steamy sexual fantasies.

If you would like to meet an angel, look in the mirror. To summon angels is one thing. To be an angel is another. The latter will get you and the world far more mileage. The earth is not a place where angels thrive. It is a training ground to become one.

As the song goes, “Fairy tales can come true. It can happen to you.” Don’t wait for your fairy tale to come true. For the best fairy tale formula, follow the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, chief officer in one of our most popular contemporary fairy tales, “Star Trek.” Daily, Captain Picard told his crew, “Make it so.”

Instead, I am painstakingly
composed of tensile steel,
yet extraordinarily flexible –
a spider’s web –
built to withstand torrents of
despair,
a deluge of
disappointment

I am woman, everyone’s mother,
the hub of the wheel, the great
connector, communicator,
peacemaker

But just once, I’d like to ride the
updraft of a steady wind catching
my gossamer wings; I’d like to be
spirited away, in bits and pieces,
riding gales, spinning in cyclones,
drifting, dancing, and eventually
landing…in any assortment of
mundane or exotic
locales, maybe to
take root there,
maybe
not.

Focus on the stillness.
Look straight down
to the bottom.
See past the flesh.

Past the surface,
see our love
connection to each
other’s heartbeat

The individual life
contains vibrancy
and joy of living,
a bright, gleaming presence.

We need to see
our fellow humans
in this inner state -
to feel their essence.

To learn to love them,
to get to know them,
touch their wisdom,
truth and being.

Feel their dreams,
all their visions,
they ponder with kindness.
Their true nature

On the bottom
of the lake
as the fish swim
and the birds fly…

We too live our lives
with oneness,
with spirituality
of our inner and higher self.

All the great knowledge
of our inner glows,
of our higher purpose,
remains deep in our hearts.

forever…

Learning to set positive intentions supports a loving environment for your child to flourish within. This is the foundation for nurturing their spiritual gifts.

Your supportive thoughts are the sunshine to their inner garden. Your child wants to thrive and reach their full potential. Like a flower blooming into full sun.

Tending to your mindset supports a heart full of unconditional love and compassion. So you’re free to express your true Divine Mother nature into your child’s life. This is where magic manifests, creating a healthy connection that gracefully supports your child’s spiritual path.

Here are 4 important keys to ignite your child’s Divine potential:

1. Try On Your Divine Mother Mindset — Are you willing to believe that you’re already everything and exactly who you need to be for yourself and your child? When you truly start to believe you were perfectly chosen to guide your child, your self-doubt melts away and you can begin to feel more confident.

You and your child agreed long ago to show up together in this lifetime. They already trust you and have faith in your abilities. Let this wisdom settle into your heart, bringing you and your child peace and comfort.

2. Create a Conscious Connection — How do you want to connect with your child? Maybe it’s as simple as “I am allowing Love to guide the way for myself and [your child's name]” or “I am always believing in [your child's name] gifts and abilities.” Becoming consciously aware of how you intend to interact with your child empowers you to create an easy and joyful relationship.

Spend a few moments every day saying your intentions out loud.

Try writing and placing them where they are easily seen by you. This helps anchor their healing power into your everyday life.

3. Intend with Love — There’s a difference between thoughts and intentions. Thoughts begin in your mind and intentions are planted in your heart. When you create a new belief you would like to manifest for you and your child, imagine it planting itself like a seed into the most sacred spaces of your heart.

Remember to be patient and have faith even when you can’t see results yet!

Using the phrase “I am…” is a powerful way to begin stating your intentions. This places the power of Love abundantly within your heart’s desires so you open the door to ALL magical possibilities for yourself and your child.

4. Allow Inspired Action — Once you are clear on your intentions, be open to taking steps that support your vision and be willing to receive spiritual support to ease into your new mindset. Whatever you feel inspired to do, just be willing to take that first step and the rest will keep presenting itself in Divine right timing.

When you align to your divine mother mindset and intend with love, you naturally become the catalyst that ignites your child’s divine potential.

Recognizing how you and your child’s potential are intimately connected empowers you to live from your highest vision of Motherhood. When you live from this place of integrity, you can trust that you always know the way.

“Higher Brain Living is a vehicle that was…developed to promote energizing [the] prefrontal cortex so that over a 22-step program of 45-minute long sessions, …[the client's] energy builds in that higher brain. …[With] each session, more energy builds and over that time, the center of gravity starts to shift into more of that empowered state associated with energy being in the higher brain.” — Dr. Michael Cotton, founder of Higher Brain Living®

“That turned my life upside down” — usually referencing something completely changing the trajectory of someone’s life — is a saying you’ve probably heard. My Higher Brain Living experience completely changed the trajectory of not only my life, but my business. The only difference is that I say, “It turned my life Up Side Up!” Thanks to colleague Tammy Ritcey for pointing out the distinction.

So what is Higher Brain Living (HBL) and how has it impacted my life? First, I’ll mention the three-part series on Edge Talk Radio for you to reference and listen to in the archives. There you will find a much deeper discussion on the many facets of HBL.

Higher Brain Living is a gentle touch technique that creates a powerful surge of energy to your prefrontal cortex (higher brain/third eye). Typically the lower brain, which lives at the base of the skull, hijacks all the oxygen. With this technique, energy flows to and through this area, giving the lower brain the oxygen it needs, but allowing the rest to flow up and over the brain to the prefrontal cortex. That’s the distinction and the secret. The beauty, and one of the most important things, is that when you are in your higher brain, you are automatically connected to your heart. Living from this space is an empowering way to live!

Let’s make it real and look at a few of the changes I have seen in my life. The second of the three-part Higher Brain Living series on Edge Talk Radio describes how HBL works in four dimensions: Mind, Body, Relationship, Environment.

• Mind — Inner experience of emotions, thoughts, awareness, consciousness. My awareness of my thoughts and how they play a role in my life have impacted how I show up in a more dynamic and powerful way. I am much more tuned into my guidance.
• Body — Physical body, what you put into the body, exercise, posture. This is the dimension where I first noticed a shift. My weight decreased (without trying). I make a juice or reach for kombucha much more frequently than previously. Purchasing organic food has become an easier choice. And my self-talk around exercise has become supportive and gentle, rather than filled with that horrific word, should — indicating that we are beating ourselves up when we don’t do something we think we should.
• Relationship — Family, friends, beliefs, significant other, co-workers. The biggest and most joyful change in this dimension is I have my daughter back! My facilitator said this is a direct reflection on how I show up and interact with her. She responds to me much differently. Her interactions are no longer short, abrasive and mean. She calls just to say hi, share something important or ask a question! Ah! That alone is worth every penny and mile driven for my sessions. (If you are in the Twin Cities, you are so fortunate now, as you have choices here, in your area, to receive sessions. When I chose to invest in the 22-step Higher Brain Living system, that choice came with a six-hour drive to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the expense of a hotel stay — and I would not have had it any other way.)
• Environment — Finances, job, school, home, places of worship. My business has expanded, and I am now looking at a completely different schedule. Higher Brain Living has “taken over” my business. While I still offer Soul Mentoring and private sessions, I find myself more frequently suggesting people explore HBL with me first before working with me in another capacity. I naturally bring in the mentoring and other gifts I have. I consider it a value added for the client, as do they.

Why was HBL created and how come you’ve never heard of it? Higher Brain Living was the result of the work of Dr. Michael Cotton during a 30-year period in which he examined many modalities, did research, and, quite honestly, allowed himself to be the conduit for this Divine download. It’s a dynamic, life-changing way to step into your Divine, authentic self with little effort. This process bypasses your ego where all your doubt and negative self-talk lives. Your life will organically grow, shift, change, blossom. Indeed, life changes without even asking you! You’ve not heard of it until now because it is new — to the Twin Cities and to the world. There are only about 70 licensed facilitators in world! And I have the joy and honor to be able to say I am one of them!

Dr. Cotton frequently says: “This is a hero’s journey.” I say to you, the reader: Be a hero to your own soul.