World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments is a pleasant read from cover to cover. The lighthearted prose of celebrated poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil reads like a picturesque spring day—a soft breeze, sunlight warming the earth after a long winter, and scents of growth and new beginnings.
Posts filed under Personal Growth
Out of My Comfort Zone: In the Space Between My Comfort Zones
Does exhaling take you out of your comfort zone? How about taking a step out ahead of you? How about the first pangs of hunger, or the chill of the air, when you step outdoors on a cold day?
Moving Meditations and Comparative Prayer Forms: An Exploration of Altering One's Consciousness Through Movement
One day while teaching Tai Chi—somewhere between forms—I was no longer cognizant of my body, my students, the studio, not even time! There was suddenly nothing except delightful whiteness, bliss, and an ethereal consciousness. When I came back to the immediate physical surroundings, I admitted to my students, “Ummmm I lost count. Was that two or three Part the Horse’s Mane?” We all laughed. Later, I recalled having had other similar experiences during movement as well as sitting/lying inert.
The Process of ‘Becoming’ Through the Diamond Approach – As Taught and Practiced by Lou Weir
The Diamond Approach, as taught and practiced by Lou Weir at the Ridhwan School in Ann Arbor, can be likened to the pupa stage of metamorphoses. It is a cognizant, individualized, un-becoming process through active inquiry (psychologically and emotionally). It is a process which transforms students to becoming their most beautiful, authentic selves.
CW Kids in the Community: Winter 2022: Kids Volunteering Opportunities To Give Back To The Community
Kids are back to school, but the community is still struggling. Many activities are up in the air even now. One of the ways we can create meaning out of the suffering around us is to volunteer to help others. We all know people or know of people who still have jobs but struggle to afford enough food or utilities. The environment continues to need our help. There are many ways that volunteering can help us help others, which can also support our own mental or physical health.
What We Can Predict
The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a colder, flakier winter than usual for those of us who live in The Mitten. Normally this would not be worth noting, but there is no “normally” anymore, and so I do note it.
Maybe I note this prediction because at a time when truth seems to be elusive, and not being prepared threatens to be deadly, The Farmer’s Almanac is a reliable source when it comes to foretelling the weather and helping people prepare. And it tips its hat to inclusivity, in that anyone is welcome to read and heed its advice—not just farmers. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac website, it is North America’s most popular reference guide and oldest continuously published periodical.
The Food of the Gods-The Sacred Cacao Ceremony
Over 5,000 years ago, the cacao bean was first used by early Mesoamerican civilizations. It has been celebrated ever since as a sacred plant medicine in many indigenous cultures in South and Central America. Cacao (kə-ˈkau̇) known as the “food of the gods,” is the seed found in the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree, which is native to the Amazon basin.
Full Moon Ceremony: Creating Sacred Space With Others
What is sacred space and where do we find it? I would describe sacred space as any environment that evokes a serene, reverent feeling of safety and connection. It is a space that allows you to remember the feeling of being exactly who you are with a knowing that you, alone, are enough. It is like receiving a warm hug from a friend or stepping into a bubble that comforts and supports you in every energetic way. Sacred space can be a place—a corner of a room or a park bench, but it can also exist within us in the moment-to-moment connectedness to our own inner wisdom, to our spirituality, to our wholeness. Native American wisdom describes sacred space as the space between the in-breath and out-breath. It exists eternally, within each of us. It just takes slowing down and listening instead of doing to uncover it.
Faith and Doubt
I was recently asked to speak at an event regarding the spiritual life. Several weeks prior to the event, I sat down to collect my thoughts and come up with a topic. Nothing came to me. I felt barren of ideas and inspiration. I tried to will myself to be inspiring. Of course, this didn’t work. I next grabbed books from my library regarding spirituality and began to cram. Some of what I ingested was momentarily inspiring, yet when I put the books down, I lost my excitement. I began to panic when I realized I was supposed to be spiritually uplifting in less than a week and I was so lost. My next strategy was to sleep (a lot)!
Shadows that Illuminate
I invite you to get curious with me before you read the rest of this article. Look around the room and find an object that catches your eye. Study it closely. Look at where the shadows and light meet each other, and wonder at their points of engagement. Do you see areas that abruptly go from light to dark? Any areas that softly and gradually transition through more subtle lighting? Notice lines and curves, and how they reveal details about your chosen object. Can you tell which direction the light is coming from and how it affects the shadows being cast?
Out of My Comfort Zone: Fall 2021, Angie Martell and Lama Nancy Burks
Crazy Wisdom Journal asked a number of leaders in southeastern Michigan’s conscious living community to reflect upon times in their lives that they’ve left their comfort zones to venture out in new ways. In the distant past or much more recently, we asked, what did you do, what inspired you, did it change you, inside or outside, big or little? Did you attend a new class, take an adventurous trip, go skydiving, stretch beyond a long entrenched boundary, start a new relationship or end an old one, take a leap, retire, join the Peace Corps, go on a night trek in the wilderness, or just do something way out of your ordinary?
Book Reviews, Fall 2021
Fall 2021 book reviews: The Modern Guide to Crystal Healing by Philip Permutt, and Sensitive is the New Strong: The Power of Empaths in an Increasingly Harsh World.
The Aura Inside You: Photographing Your Deeper Self
Article and Photos By Cashmere Morley
If you ever have days when you’re feeling blue, or become red with passion, a recent resurgence in an antiquated form of spiritual photography says those feelings may not be too far off from reality.
Aura photography has become more and more popular on social media these past few years. The concept, which attracts enthusiasts and critics alike, originated in the 1970s. Unlike thermographic cameras which detect heat, aura photography captures a person’s aura. Aura photography is not a fortune-telling device nor a way to resolve questions. It captures the state you are in, right now, in your most present moment.
The uptick in recent interest in the practice has resulted in a flood of wispy, magical polaroids and inkjet-printed stills, scattered across screen feeds like a cotton candy, psychedelic dream. It’s a versatile practice in that everyone from grandma to teen brothers to Gwynth Paltrow is ready to discover what their own aura can tell them about themselves. But to understand what aura photography is, one must first understand the definition of an aura.
The first entry of the word aura in the Oxford Dictionary defines it to be a noun, meaning the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place. Used in a sentence— "The ceremony retains an aura of mystery." The second entry, however, defines the word as a noun in terms of “spiritualism and some forms of alternative medicine:” a supposed emanation surrounding the body of a living creature and regarded as an essential part of the individual. Used in a sentence: "Emotional, mental, and spiritual levels form an energy field around the body known as the aura." Both definitions incorporate this idea of the aura surrounding the body, in one form or another.
Healthline.com notes that the “interpretation of what an aura is varies among practices and philosophies.” While that is true, what remains a constant through the different interpretations is the idea that all things in this universe have energy. Whether that energy is a reflection of your spiritual and/or physical body is up for debate. In more generic terms, an aura could be thought of as a vibe. If someone is giving off bad or good vibes, that’s their energy, or their aura, that you are sensing. In short, all things have energy: plants, people, pets, rocks. It’s the way you send out those vibes or energies that manifests as an aura.
Annette Schilz, owner of DNA Sales 2100 in Tecumseh, believes that through aura photography, she can show visitors how to tap into their deeper selves. Specifically, she believes your aura “shows you the energies that you are receiving and sending, and that it changes with your emotional state and your health. Ideally, having a strong aura helps protect and feed your chakras and maintain a good mind, body, and spirit balance.”
Said Schilz, “We interpret the aura as your energy field around your body. It’s like an emotional gauge, a little bit. You can tell what mode your thoughts are in by what colors are going to appear in the photo, and then naturally your chakras come into play with that, too. To me, they kind of meld together. Each thought or layer naturally goes to a different mode. I believe there are seven layers, which align with your seven chakras.” Those layers are physical, astral, lower mental, higher mental, spiritual, intuitional, and absolute.
Auras can change, second by second. With the use of rocks, essential oils, tuning forks, and more, Schilz can help guide visitors toward adjustments in their chakras, if they seek it. Sometimes, chakras can appear in aura photography sessions as blocked or lesser in levels than other chakras. By aligning those troubled chakras with objects that emit vibrations targeting those areas, anyone can learn how to make small adjustments in their lives to open themselves up to their full capacity, spiritually and otherwise.
“If you happen to get creative one day, and you say, ‘okay I need to do this creative thing,’ that's going to bring in those energies, it's going to change your colors to more creative green hues. And then, if you get into a layer of your mind where maybe you're thinking of someone you love, then that's going to change your chakras. What I love about the photography aspect, is that it gives a great visual so people can see how quickly the aura can change.”
A common question people have coming into aura photography, said Schilz, is, “What can I learn about myself?’”
To read an aura photograph, look not only at the colors and what they represent, but how are those colors haloed around the subject? Colors at the top of the photo represent your consciousness. The color to the left of the subject represents the energy that’s coming in, or the lens you see the world through. Are you an optimist? A pessimist? The color emanating on the right side of the subject’s body represents the energy that he or she is expelling. This is how the world perceives you. Are you warm and friendly? Or do people generally try to avoid your company? The visualization of an arch represents a goal or an aspiration the subject is perhaps trying to archive.
Read related article: Soul on a Short Leash: Butterflies, Bees, and Technologies
Colors can appear as a solid through the photograph, or can be mixed, a graduation from one color to the next. Red generally means the subjects are passionate but are encouraged to go out into nature to restore a balance in their lives. Orange auras exude confidence but can be emotionally aloof. Tan auras are generally organized go-getters that work best with structure in their lives. Yellow auras are known for their optimistic, warm personalities, which allow people to feel comfortable around them. Green can mean creative or goal-oriented types, but these energies can also hold themselves back. Blue auras are tied to nurturing, sensitive energies. Water activities can make them feel more grounded. Purple auras are the unconventional, non-judgmental types. They are encouraged to keep a journal and to trust in others. A white aura generally means intense energy and cosmic wisdom.
Schilz brings up a story about renowned psychic Edgar Cayce, who allegedly had the ability to ‘see’ auras without any kind of technology intervening. One afternoon, Cayce was going to board an elevator but stopped himself from entering, when he noticed everyone inside had a black aura clouding them. According to Schilz, the elevator line would end up snapping, killing everyone inside.
“Think about the people you surround yourself with,” said Schilz. “If you’re with someone that really brings you down, brings your energy down, and you tell yourself ‘Oh, I’m only around them for a half-hour, it’s okay,’ this practice disputes that. The energies you surround yourself with, do matter.”
Is the energy that surrounds us and everything else measurable? And if so, how? As we turn to how the camera captures the aura, we must also examine how an aura manifests itself.
To discuss the more tangible, scientific side of the aura phenomenon, we begin in Soviet Russia in the 1930s. Born out of Kirlian photography, the aura photograph was conceived when a scientist accidentally charged an object with electricity while sitting it on a photographic plate. The charge created when the two coalesced created a colorful ‘energy’ as the electricity discharged from the plate.
Aura photography did not take off, however, until the rise of alternative healing methods, such as crystals, in the 1970s. Guy Coggins took the Kirlian technique and tweaked it to his own camera system, resulting in the AuraCam 3000 (a later version, known as the AuraCam 6000, is still widely used today)
The AuraCam 6000 shows auras evolving in real time. To manifest your aura, you begin by placing your hand on a plate that contains sensors. Those sensors collect deviations in temperature, humidity, and static electricity. These parameters are then projected as a brilliant, colored aura on screen. Other parameters such as aura power, chakra levels, and balance between male and female energy, are also reported by infographs, and are all factored into the color that manifests onscreen and in your aura photo. If chakra adjustments are made during this time, the aura will reflect those changes almost immediately.
While Schilz had an AuraCam that connected to the top of her computer, some practitioners of aura photography use a polaroid to capture auras, since it is more portable and can be used anywhere, as opposed to having a set studio space. Christina Lonsdale, Portland creator of the popular roving polaroid photography aura practice, Radiant Human, prides herself on being the first “roving, fully adaptable aura photography laboratory” of its kind, in that she comes to you for an aura reading.
Lonsdale claims Radiant Human works as a “conduit for those seeking a new kind of self-exploration—a brief, metaphysical vision quest, compelling us toward a uniquely tangible kind of self-discovery.” She notes that while aura photography can help occupy “the gray space between science and mysticism,” familiarizing ourselves in the practice “immerses us in the quantifiable forces just outside of human perception—helping us to acknowledge the naked energies we all radiate into our world. Perceptions can pivot with the click of a shutter, illuminating our truest selves, and giving new light to what was there all along.”
Schilz said she has been able to help diagnose and treat everything from stomach ailments to hernias in visitors, based on what chakras appear to be blocked or appear as lower levels in their aura photo. Whether you believe in the technology or not, Schilz suggests everyone should approach aura photography with an open mind.
“My whole theory is that we really need to do more on our emotional level,” said Schilz. “I mean, I think that's kind of what's being missed. People are so focused on the physical, but they never really attach any of their problems to the emotional. So, we decided aura photography would be a great tool to help people first visualize and understand how outside problems might be connected to inside emotions, and it starts with getting in tune with the aura.”
Visit DNA Sales 2100 for an aura photograph at 406 North Pearl Street in Tecumseh, MI, between Monday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To learn when Radiant Human is coming near you, visit radianthuman.com.
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Waking Up After 2020
Here we are in autumn and soon leaning toward winter, the holiday time when we gather with loved ones—when home becomes the warmth we circle around. When my spouse and I bought our house twenty years ago, we talked about getting a mezuzah. Mezuzahs are hung on the thresholds of Jewish homes, to signify the transition from the outer world to the inner. Inside each mezuzah is a prayer from the book of Deuteronomy. There was just one little hitch: Neither of us were Jewish.
Divine Order-- Not Disorder: How Sarah DesJardins' Personal Journey Informs Her Equine Therapy and Energy Healing Work
Down a country road and around a corner in lovely Manchester, hot tea and home-made chocolate-chip cookies (my favorite treats) awaited my arrival at Souls at Play Center for Creative Therapy. This was my third time seeing Sarah DesJardins. The first was at the Spring 2015 Holistic/Psychic Fair of Ann Arbor, where as a guest speaker, she presented a powerful seminar―“Psychic Awareness: The Silver Lining of Trauma”―maxing the venue’s capacity.
Stirring the Spirit to Health: A Profile of Energy Healer Karlta Zarley
There you are minding your own business, and the sound of a battalion of bees builds to a crescendo—and then disappears just as rapidly. If upon hearing the sound you freeze in momentary panic, you only have a nanosecond to catch a glimpse of the source, and most often it will only be a blur. Seasoned, you know to not swivel about wildly, but to scan with your eyes and turn slowly. Then, you may see the actual flight of the hummingbird. It is a flash of iridescence, a determined small head leading a wake of whirring wings—an almost visible stream hanging in the air where it cuts through this pane of reality like a knife through warm butter.
Out of My Comfort Zone
Crazy Wisdom Journal asked a number of leaders in southeastern Michigan’s conscious living community to reflect upon times in their lives that they’ve left their comfort zones to venture out in new ways. In the distant past or much more recently, we asked, what did you do, what inspired you, did it change you, inside or outside, big or little? Did you attend a new class, take an adventurous trip, go skydiving, stretch beyond a long entrenched boundary, start a new relationship or end an old one, take a leap, retire, join the Peace Corps, go on a night trek in the wilderness, or just do something way out of your ordinary?
An Unexpected Journey
In 2016 my life started to transform. I was pregnant with my second daughter and I was joyous and terrified at the same time. My daughter’s father and I had been on and off for several years. He was in another relationship and I wanted to be with someone so badly. I believed if I were patient enough, kind enough, and quiet enough, he would pick me. Shortly after announcing I was pregnant, he admitted there was no choosing me, and the pregnancy would not change that. It was the biggest wake-up call of my life. For years I’d waited for him to choose me and make me a priority. The breakup slowly made me realize that I needed to choose and love myself. I gave birth in 2017 and committed to a journey of self-love, but it evolved into a deep spiritual journey.
Stepping Into Freedom: A Funny Thing Happened On My Way Out the Door
I was wearing a walking cast on my broken right foot toward the end of my tenure as an administrative assistant at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. At work one day, when I knew I was tendering my resignation but had not yet announced it, I was clunking into our “hub” from my office down the hall. The hub was a room that had multiple functions: mail room, kitchen, copy room, and a place where people touched base, shared a greeting, or had a chat. On this day one of my co-workers walked in at the same time as I and greeted me with, “How long do you have?”
Honoring Our Ancestors
I was 18 years old when the telephone rang. My grandmother had passed. In a moment of stunned disbelief—this was my first experience of death in our family—I was also informed that in two hours my flight would leave for Boston. There was much to be done and very little had to do with processing emotions. I had to arrange for someone to cover a shift at the restaurant where I was waitressing, contact my college about missing class, find someone to care for my cat, and pack a suitcase. I had never been to a funeral, and my only reference was the movies. Yet, somehow, I managed to sort it all out and found myself surrounded by family, all mourning my grandmother.
