I took my first steps on a spiritual path with the Universal Great Brotherhood. I remember my revered teacher, the Elder Brother, giving a talk during one of his visits to Ann Arbor. He looked around the room at all of our shining faces and said “Everything vibrates. I’m vibrating, you’re vibrating and, pointing to the table where his water glass was perched, even this table is vibrating. Can you see it? Can you sense it?”
Thinking Outside the Box
I was pretty convinced that my wild woman would be of the earth, probably covered with some dirt, have long un-styled hair, and maybe, bit of a crazed gaze that warned the beholder that she is not to be messed with. That she is to be feared even. Western society has burned even the tamest of wild women (wise women and healers) for centuries to make sure there is no question that our psyches equate wild with dangerous. In fact I am bewildered more than anything that this archetype has survived and is coming through in our imagery at all given how long and hard mankind worked to eradicate it.
New guest bloggers announced for January 2019
Every THING Has a Voice!
found this little six-inch Christmas tree at a dollar store, the perfect size for my small apartment. When switched on, it changes colors and is very soothing to look at. I've been practicing and broadening my telepathic abilities, and since the little tree was right in front of me on my desk one day, I decided to try connecting with it...
River: So, my sparkling little friend, is there anything you'd like to talk about?
Voices of Double Up in America
As a young mom and graduate student, this shopper, now in her mid-thirties, used Double Up Food Bucks during her last year in school—stretching her food dollars at the farmers markets for fresh, nutritious produce for her family. Today, she’s a social worker in the area and a Double Up volunteer who refers others with food needs to the program.
In the Heart of a Dragon
This is the third time a dragon has showed up in one of my paintings and it continues to make me uncomfortable. The best way I can explain the discomfort is that the value of rational, scientific thinking as the only valid type of information gathering was such a central part of my upbringing that the consideration of the mythic is often accompanied by shame.
A Conservation With the Deva of Abundance
Last summer I decided I wanted to attend the Earth Keepers event in Arkansas in November. To manifest the necessary funds, I was following the Law of Attraction rules of visualization plus act-ing like I already had that money; but it wasn't working out the way I thought it should. Then I got the idea to talk to the Deva of Abundance, and I'd like to share the conversation with you...
Black Music Matters...Jazz and It's Impact On Society
I always get a kick out of seeing how startled individuals outside of music studies are when they learn that the vast majority of music majors in America graduate with little, or more often, no skills in the primary creative processes of improvisation and composition, nor in the African American musical heritage that is arguably America’s primary cultural contribution to the world.
Setting Stories in Motion (and Movies to See!)
With the kind of work I do through my creative company — 7 Cylinders Studio — I get to interact with an ever-evolving cross section of our community.
I want to highlight a handful of those criss-crossing clients to survey our local landscape through the lens of video and provide some of the more compelling projects I’ve been fortunate to produce these past few years.
The Zen of Ballet
I am encouraged and inspired by the number of adults enrolling in ballet who have never studied before, or may have only had a year or two of lessons. A common thread among these different personalities seems to be a “beginner mind set”, an openness to trying something new, willingness to persist as difficulties arise and the sense of satisfaction that comes from finally getting it.
AUTUMN ADVENTURES: A Fall Feast with the Fae Folk!
Though I've always known in my heart that fairies are real, I never thought about creating a real relationship with them until the late 1990's. By then I'd been working with angels long enough to raise my personal vibration so it was close to the frequency level of most fae, which simplified connections and communications. And I figured that working with fairies would be a natural next step. After all, fairies have been described as taking care of nature the way angels take care of humans!
Lessons From the Trees
Have you been to a redwood forest? Or laid flat on your back watching the stars? Or seen a person that you’ve never met, that you are certain that you “know”? There are so many ways that people feel connected, and conversely, so many ways that we forget we are connected and tell ourselves that we are all alone.
Fall Bloggers!
Persephone’s Daughter
As is often the case, when I first finished this painting, I had little knowledge of the insights it held in store for me. The first revelation came when my husband commented that the fish to the left was not in a natural position, that it wasn’t moving. Often the very section of a painting that doesn’t make sense holds great jewels to unearth about what lies in the deeper layers of the psyche.
How I Came to Be an Art Therapist
Shortly after I graduated with a masters degree in clinical psychology, we had a major earthquake in Adapazari, Turkey, a town close enough to my home-city of Istanbul that resulted in a death toll of 35,000, and many more that were wounded and/or traumatized. I was part of a group of private practitioners, and overnight our office space expanded to include hospitals and tent cities.
Changing the Face of Death: The positive death movement brings light to what has been taboo
America has been described as a society that is at the same time death-obsessed and death-denying. Mainstream media, in its efforts to capture and hold our attention, focuses on the sensational and feeds us endless stories and images of people being killed and we can’t seem to help but devour them all in a sort of dark obsession. At the same time, most people have a very hard time talking with depth about the idea of their own death and the topic is often treated as taboo.
Big Magic Indeed
Some magic is small, like how the laugh of a baby can melt your heart regardless of your state of mind. Some magic is big, like when you run into an old friend in a city of 15 million people you are only visiting for a week. When the likelihood of something happening is way smaller then it not happening, it is called synchronicity.
Water Works
I never leave the house without it. If I forget it, guess what? I’m going back for it. I take it everywhere I go. It even sits on my bedside table each night. It has become my staple. I’m lost without it. It’s refreshing, tastes great (especially infused!) and the best part is, it’s doing wonders for my body. I’m talking about water, of course.
5 Tips for Making Healthier Choices at Summer BBQs
Summer is a wonderful time for getting outside and being active. But when it comes to eating healthy, there can be an awful lot of temptation — especially with summer holidays and BBQs. By following the tips below, you can have fun and feel good about your choices at the same time.
Before I Was A Psychologist
The person I looked up to most at the tennis club was a part-time instructor named Lou Graves. He was a teacher in a juvenile detention center and would kid me that I reminded him of some of his delinquents. What he meant was that I had a temper, even though my temper hadn’t gotten me into any legal trouble. It just got me into an occasional fight, including with some of my tennis opponents when I began competing in tournaments.
