Over the years, whenever something began showing up in my work with clients, I always looked for more information to address the issue in a knowledgeable, grounded way. That’s how I got into animal communication; that’s also what brought me to Betsy Bergstrom, a shamanic expert who has developed unique training in curse unraveling and compassionate depossession. A part of the training includes psychopomp, psycho from the Greek for “spirit” and pomp meaning “to accompany.” Basically, helping a person or animal to prepare for the transition to have a good death and a good crossing over.
Posts filed under Issue #81
Making Your Own Magic
At age five, Paula Hampton knew that there was something magical about art. The way her mother would hold a pencil to paper and make a face appear on a blank canvas, unaided by anything save her imagination, blossomed a world of possibility in Hampton’s heart.
Brush Monkeys and TreeTown Murals--Beautifying Ann Arbor & Beyond
Ann Arbor has long had a tradition of downtown businesses featuring window paintings on their store fronts during the holiday season. When in 2006 local artist, John Copley noticed a break in that tradition, “I mentioned to Jim Hart of Seyfried Jewelers, that I had enjoyed the holiday window painting that someone had been doing downtown for a while. That year it was not happening. I asked him why and he said, ‘Well, he died. You want to do it?’ And that is where it all began.”
A Walk Within and Beyond: Labyrinths Lead the Way
The bright service-blue sign simply stating “labyrinth” caught my attention as I was driving by St. Barnabus in Chelsea, MI. It was on my literal path, thus destined to be part of my journey that day. Suffice it to say at the start of our walk together in this article, when I stood at the entrance of this 11 circuit, 40 foot labyrinth, I felt a mystical buzz. I was about to embark on a new spiritual entry point.
Body Wisdom from Our Ancestors—Combining Trauma Informed Movement and Art Therapy
Awareness of the universal impacts of trauma on the mind, body, and society—large and small—has been growing over the past few decades. Fortunately, this awareness has promoted understanding of what type of approaches might help support healing as well. Some of these approaches were known by our earliest ancestors, including creating images, movement, dance, music, and singing. Today we call these expressive arts therapies.
Detroit Nonprofit Paves the Way for Innovative Urban Agriculture
Tucked into a three-acre section of Brush Street in Detroit’s North End lies a utopia of freshly grown foods available to the surrounding communities at no cost. Made possible by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI), the project, known as America’s first sustainable urban agrihood, aims to combat challenges unique to urban communities such as Detroit. More than 120,000 pounds of food are grown from seed from this portion of Detroit’s land, which was once abandoned.
IFS Therapy: More Than the Sum of Our Parts
Psychotherapy has undergone massive shifts and transformations since its inception in the early 20th century. By the 1980s, modalities such as cognitive, psychodynamic, and dialectical behavioral therapies were firmly planted as the gold-standard of the field.
How York Helped Forge a New Way of Dining Out
When the pandemic started in March 2020, restaurants had to close their doors for a bit of time to re-group. Most were able to provide delivery, no contact pickups, and take-out options. During this time, mobile food folks had an edge. It was truly amazing how food businesses, from farms to restaurants, figured out new ways of operating in a short period of time. York Food and Drink (and many other alternative eateries) made the change successfully and super-fast.
Kindred Conversations: with Hilary Nichols
Where does music begin? When you’re a musician, the search is inward. David Magumba realized that, “Beyond inspiration, you do the work. You make it happen. As a songwriter, that is the effort I am making right now.”
Amy Garber — Promoting Holistic and Psychic Realms for a Quarter of a Century
The Ann Arbor Holistic Psychic Fair became the largest of its type in Michigan as it gave a common arena for holistic practitioners and psychic intuitives to assemble in a mutually respected village for one or two days. Many of the practitioners highlighted in Crazy Wisdom articles have had booths, done readings, or attended informative lectures through these fairs.
Conscious Parenting: Meditation For Breakfast
I’m really good at anger; I always have been. The fight response in my threat system is ready to launch. If I wanted to slip back into my old baseline of anger in that moment, I had plenty of reasons to: I was in a rush, I was hungry, I was feeling unappreciated for the things I didn’t forget to do for my sons, I was feeling vulnerable at my son’s implication that my best wasn’t enough, and I was feeling blamed for “ruining” my son’s morning routine.
Stronger Relationships - Healthier Pets
Science has identified that the relationship between a pet and their family is mutually beneficial. Controlled research in anthrozoology has proved that pets can buffer stress, lower heart rate and blood pressure, give social support, help you stay in shape, and prevent certain types of sickness.
Astrologically Speaking: The Solar and Lunar Eclipses of 2022 & 2023
This fall season we will experience two eclipses: The first will be a partial solar eclipse on October 25th in the sign of Scorpio, followed by a total lunar eclipse on November 8th in the sign of Taurus.
Hand Crafting: A Jolly Old Elf
Bring a little magic into your holiday season with this jolly old elf. Made from scraps of wool felt and a bit of ribbon from your stash, he’ll be adorable hanging from your Yule tree, decorating a package, or pinned to your lapel.
Changing Our Minds--Kindness, Clarity, and Insight
Kindness, Clarity, and Insight is a collection of talks that the Tibetan Buddhist Dalai Lama gave in the USA and Canada more than forty years ago. With this and later books, the Dalai Lama brought Tibetan Buddhism and the situation in Tibet into prominent international awareness; he went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Healers of Ann Arbor: Psychologist Christi Bemister—Healing Trauma and Chronic Pain
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone in chronic pain, myself, who doesn’t have a history with trauma,” Christi Bemister said as she opened up a weekend retreat on trauma and chronic pain. The retreat covered the work of healing the mind and body together through the Realization Process created by Judith Blackstone. “They’re very intricately related, because chronic pain is actually a brain issue versus simply a physiological one. It’s a very complex issue,” she added.
Crazy Wisdom Kids in the Community--Country Fall Festivals
I’m excited to explore kids’ events with you that are waiting just outside of Ann Arbor. Perfect for this new phase of expansion of the Journal are the fall festivals around Washtenaw County. You can get outside with your kids, eat a caramel apple, and relax in nature for a day of family fun.
Green Living: Bring Your Own Container, Leave with a New Way to Live
It is a song many of us sing every day: the last swipe of lotion on a dry day leaves a container empty; the final drizzle of olive oil escapes the bottle and sizzles on the pan; the old water kettle stops boiling; it is time to throw it all out and start over with something new.
Tell Every Amazing Lady These Five Lessons
I am a T.E.A.L. survivor. T.E.A.L.® stands for Tell Every Amazing Lady about ovarian cancer. It is an organization (and national movement) started to help women identify signs and symptoms and urge them to seek medical help in its early stages, because ovarian cancer is often overlooked until it is too late. When it declares itself with debilitating symptoms, usually in stage III or IV, the prognosis is poor, so in an attempt to get the information out there, I share my cautionary tale.
Out of My Comfort Zone: Living Outside My Comfort Zone
Upon reflecting on “a single time” that I have moved outside of my zone of comfort, I am somewhat stumped. I realized while considering this topic that I virtually live outside of my comfort zone. My life is what I call “living on a prayer.” I work in the healing industry and have been a self-employed woman for well over 20 years of my 23 years of healing service.
