UGUST - One Thousand Trees · ONE THOUSAND TREES AUGUST 2018 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES FEATURE ARTICLE: THE GARDEN: THE BUILDING OF SACRED SPACE AND SACRED SELF by David Rankine 1 DEPARTMENTS:

UGUST

ONE THOUSAND TREESFACILITATING WELLNESS

THROUGH CONNECTION, CREATIVITY, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

PUBLISHERLisa Browning

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORSJill Michelle, Christine Nightingale, Sandra Wilson

ONE THOUSAND TREES3-304 Stone Road West, Suite 338

Guelph ON  N1G 4W4

Email: [email protected]: 519-362-5494

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ONE THOUSAND TREESAUGUST 2018

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

FEATURE ARTICLE:

THE GARDEN: THE BUILDING OF SACRED SPACEAND SACRED SELF

by David Rankine 1

DEPARTMENTS: (bolded articles are monthly features)

CONNECTIONS-- The Month in Review, by Lisa Browning 17-- Dear Angels, by Jill Michelle 8-- Spirit Babies, by Christine Nightingale 3

CREATIVITY & THE ARTS-- e-interview: Catherine Robertson, Elanne & Ivy Designs 2-- My Adventure Called Life: When Your Normal Isn’t the Norm, by Sandra Wilson 7

FOOD & NUTRITION-- Spiritual Nutrition: How the Foods You Eat Affect Your Mind, Body and Spirit 5

GIVING BACK-- The Fourth Annual Canal Pursuit, by Clay Williams 11

HEALTH & WELLBEING-- Build Your Mind-Muscle Connection, by Amanda Gazzola 10-- How Past Life & Spiritual Journeys Help Heal and Empower Your Life, by Allan Green 9-- Spiritual Guidance Within, by Danielle Hughes 7-- Empowered Healing, by Julia Petrisor 4-- Yoga: Helping to Manage Stress for Over 3,000 Years, by Susan Stewart 12

THE LIBRARY-- Water From the Top, by Lisa Browning 18-- The Story Behind the Story: The Emotional Animal Alphabet Series, by Sandra Wilson 15-- Sanctuary, by Marilyn Helmer 15

Cover Photograph: My Garden, by Lisa Browning

The Garden: the building ofsacred space and sacred self

by David Rankine, p 1

The Fourth Annual Canal Pursuitby Clay Williams, p 11

THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

Danielle HughesSpiritual Guidance Within

Danielle is a published author,health and wellness advocate andhas a passion for learning andteaching holis c techniques. Shealso has a background in health care

as respiratory therapist with over 4 years experience inthe field of sleep and sleep therapies.

Marilyn HelmerSanctuary

Marilyn is the award-winning authorof many children's books includingpicture books, early chapters, retoldfairy tales, riddle books and novels.

Her short stories, poetry and ar cles have appeared innumerous children's magazines and anthologies inCanada and the United States and her penchant forentering wri ng contests has resulted in success withshort adult fic on as well. You can visit her website atwww.marilynhelmer.com.

Amanda GazzolaBuild Your Mind-Muscle Connection

Amanda started her career in thecorporate world working as a healthcoordinator for a small business. Shequickly learned that the environment

wasn't for her, and wanted to expand her vision. It is

confident and strong, and to be who they are and findout the truth about themselves to produce true changein their life. She would love to help you create the bestversion of yourself on your own Journey to Greatness!

Alan GreenHow Past Life & Spiritual JourneysHelp Heal and Empower Your Life

Allan has been a Master Past Life &Spiritual Journey Facilitator since1982. Both experiences can help guide

you toward a more peaceful, loving, harmonious,empowering, self-determining, and fulfilling life. Withover 36 years of experience and 30,000 individualjourneys with people, he has much to share. For more

Jill MichelleDear Angels

with angels for most of her life. She isan angel reader and channels healinglight to her clients. She has been

phone for over 15 years. Jill's passion is to help peoplerelease issues and blockages, propelling them forward ontheir spiritual journey and bringing love peace and joy

www.jillmichelle.ca.

Christine NightingaleSpirit Babies

with clients, she would get very clearmessages from their miscarried or notyet conceived babies. Her speciality

for making it easier. She has worked with over 400

Clay WilliamsThe Fourth Annual Canal Pursuit

Clay is a 58 year old father of two livingin Elmira with his wife of 37 years. In1982 Clay lost his oldest brother tosuicide, and then in 2007 another olderbrother took his own life. Clay’s wife, his

oldest sister and his daughter all struggle with mooddisorders and he has recently found his voice as an

speaking to middle school and high school students and

Julia PetrisorEmpowered Healing

Julia has always had a knack for keeping

work life is no different! A steadilyworking freelance ghostwriter and

David RankineThe Garden: The Building of SacredSpace and Sacred Self

and teaching, David explores the nature

in the development of consciousness and search for self.David lectures on medieval sacred art and sacredgeometry, and his work with mandalas (both graphic andsonic) as a healing tool has been recognized in a number

Catherine Robertsone-interview: Elanne & Ivy Designs

wife and mother who lives with herhusband Stuart and their two childrenin Guelph. Catherine is a busy mom,homeschooling her kids and managing

Canadian Parents and Today’s Parentmagazines, Catherine has enjoyed a career as a food. Her

rewarding and fulfilling. She can be found on her blog:

Susan StewartYoga: Helping to Manage Stress forOver 3,000 Years

Susan has been teaching gentle yoga

along with Cranio Sacral Therapy, Reiki

Sandra WilsonMy Adventure Called LifeThe Story Behind the Story

Sandra is a writer, educator, andamateur photographer. With aBachelor of Arts in English and History,much of her work includes historic

trained to take portraits at Sears Portrait Studio, Sandraprefers to capture nature with her camera. Her passionis to help people learn, laugh and be inspired. For more

PUBLISHER’S PONDERINGS

Having the luxury of two weeks’ vacation this past month has giftedme with many things, including time to relax, time to play, time toponder. And I did those things, often! In so doing, I found a balancebetween work (especially my work in regard to One Thousand Trees,which is so important to me) and taking time to simply enjoy thepeople, places and things around me. I found my own sacred space.

The transformation of my backyard was a highlight, for sure. Trustinganother individual to make such a drastic change in my own personal

space was easier for me than I (a self-proclaimed perfectionist!) thought it would be. And I couldn’t behappier with the results. I spend a lot of time in nature, because it inspires and rejuvenates me. Now, Ihave my own private sanctuary, right outside my door. Thank you, David Rankine!

As I look ahead to August, I am filled with anticipation about many projects to come. The project nearestand dearest to my heart is Metamorphosis, my upcoming book about emotional abuse. If you areinterested in being a part of this project (anonymously), please contact me for information.

Another project I am passionate about is Roots & Wings (mental health awareness and empowermentand creativity). I am in a stage of discernment as to exactly what that project will look like ... so this issomething that interests you, I’d love to hear from you!

As I put the finishing touches on this magazine last night, I felt incredibly grateful, not only for theblessings and opportunities in this life, and for all the amazing people I have come to know. Several ofthose people have written articles this month, and I thank them all.

May you find, and live well, in your own sacred space.

with gratitude,

Lisa

THE GARDEN: THE BUILDING OFSACRED SPACE AND SACRED SELF

by David Rankine

Any task can be regarded as a spiritualpractice. Engaging in or regarding anytask as a creative task is all importantin this process whether it be washingthe dishes, vacuuming the rugs orbuilding a garden using stone, bricksand cement. Part of what makes achore a spiritual practice is the intentbehind it. That intent is really at itsmost basic level a sense of opennessto engage in an act – any act, in amindful way. In being mindful aboutthe common everyday things we do,we engage ourselves and in engagingourselves we experience the sweet-ness of the moment, the exquisitepleasure of small actions, hearing ourown thoughts and facing the power ofour own creativity. Our engagementwith self IS spiritual practice.

It is with this idea in mind that Iapproached the actual construction ofLisa’s garden. The design was fairlyeasy to come up with as it was likecreating one of my own paintings orhenna designs, but I was very awarethat I wanted the garden to besomething that was to be engagedwith, not just looked at. The two-dimensional plan was quickly turnedinto a three-dimensional spacewithout measuring; that is to say I‘eye-balled’ it and stayed true to myown design philosophy that my body

and mind would instinctively know thecorrect curves and proportionsneeded. The physical structure of thegarden represents a 3-dimensionalcontainer – a space, a sacred space ifyou will that was waiting to beactivated and propelled into thefourth dimension (time). Within hoursof the first paths being marked and thegrass being lifted, the sacred spacecame alive with the arrival of manyspecies of song birds. It was as if theysensed the opening of a safe spacewithin which they could just be. I amsure the sudden unearthing of grubsand other insects added to theattraction! At this time, just severaldays into a five-week process, thesacred space was pretty much still anidea, unmanifested, yet already thesecreatures could sense what wascoming.

The arrival of the birds wasunexpected, but my intention hadbeen that the fourth dimension wouldbe engaged through the owner (andvisitors) moving through the garden,walking the paths, pausing at differentlevels surrounded by shrubs and trees,songbirds and butterflies. Through itsuse combined with changing light,weather conditions, smells, ever-changing thoughts and feelings, paceof movement etc, the garden wouldbecome a co-creative, living thing, acontainer that is re-created momentby moment, use by use. Indeed thisever-changing use, and experience, of

the garden is matched by a trans-formative experience within the user.

With only one straight line within thegarden, it invites the user into a spacethat mirrors natural forms in nature —the shapes of sand dunes, waves andclouds, currents and eddies of air andabove all the ever-expanding ordiminishing radii of curves in nature.These same natural forms appear inour own bodies, so the use of thesesame forms in the garden has theeffect of entraining the mind and bodyinto a comfortable and familiar space.It is a garden design that is never thesame twice because it will never beengaged in the same way twice. Inessence, it is a processor constructedof stone and plants — a sacred space,a space within which to engage thespiritual.

Physicality of construction andthe spiritual encounter within

Well thought-out intentions anddesign are one thing, but what reallysurprised me was the effect it hadupon me as the designer and builder.I had barely given thought to the ideathat the process of construction wouldchange me — in a physical way butalso in a spiritual way.

I have often stated, in teaching artworkshops about mandalas, that thebest tools are the ones we createourselves. The tools we createourselves then become part of thewhole process of spiritual practice.Who we are before we make the tooland who we are when finished arenever the same. Physically I was notthe same person as when I started.

I cannot say that any part of theconstruction was easy. It wasphysically demanding, especially on a59 year old body that was not used tohauling 150lb pavers and slabs offlagstone around. I was not used tousing a pick axe and spade for hourson end. I ached, I groaned and

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sweated, but I discovered that Ienjoyed it. I did not enjoy the heat butgot around that by starting early in themorning. As an artist and musician, Ilive very much in my head and heart,and as the garden grew so did my ownsense of physicality. The return of myphysicality (and weight loss!) broughtme back into balance as theharmonious triad of the body/mind/soul system was established. Allof a sudden I felt whole and THAT wasin itself a very spiritual event.

The very construction of this gardenchanged me in other spiritual ways. Iwas very aware of how engaged I wasin using the materials. The ‘building’of sacred space gave me a sense ofpurpose at a time when I was facedwith the frustration of family medicalissues and my inability to do much toalter the situations.

At times this frustration has been quitimmobilizing and tainted other areasof my life with a fatalistic outlook. Ilove Winston Churchill’s quoteregarding bad times: “When you findyourself in hell, keep moving.” I wouldchange that to: “When you findyourself in hell, create!” I can easilysuggest this to others but, as is oftenthe case, I forget that I can apply it tomyself.

This “creation as therapeutic process”also caught me by surprise. I was notjust building a garden for someoneelse, I was healing myself andchanging myself and finding within thework (the action), the spiritualitywithin creation.

I have often seen this process in actionin others and within myself (creatingart or music) but did not think it wouldhappen on such a large scale, and thechanges within me seemed to be on alarge scale. Within the process ofconstruction, I once again encoun-tered my sacred self.

Heightened Awareness

In the two weeks that have passedsince the end of construction, I havereturned to painting and the creativeflow is quite exhilarating. I movedfrom large scale creation (sculpture ifyou will) using stone and cement tothe intense detailing of my own artcreations. What has stood in this movefrom macro to micro is that in bothlevels of scale, I am still creating sacredspace for the heart, body and mind(my heart, body and mind), and I amvery aware that the by-product of thisprocess of creation resonates loudlywith the observer of the process orthe purchaser of the art or the ownerof the garden.

I am so pleased that, right from thestart, Lisa could see it for what it is...avast processor and labyrinth ofanother kind. It is sacred spaceorganized and manifested, built,engaged and co-created moment tomoment. I will forever be grateful forthe opportunity to exercise myphilosophy on such a large scale, and Iappreciate Lisa’s trust in my creativeprocess.

E-INTERVIEW: CATHERINE ROBERTSONELANNE & IVY DESIGNS

I first met Catherine Robertson whenshe called me, as a result of referral, totalk about publishing. I was so excitedto learn about her amazing jewellery... and I became hooked, instantly! Iam so happy to be able to spread theword about this amazing smallbusiness!

How long have you been makingjewellery?

Nearly 25 years though I honestlycannot believe it’s been that long!

What got you started?

I just love beads and shiny things! I tellpeople I must be part Magpie! When Imoved to Toronto in 1995 and startedvisiting the bead-stores along QueenSt. West, I found so much inspirationthere. I knew that making jewellerywould be a lifelong passion.

What is your background?

My degree is in Cultural Anthropologyand I have a Certificate in BusinessCommunications. I have done manydifferent jobs ranging from prep-cookto historical interpreter, to civil servantand everything in between. I have alsodone a lot of food-writing andwritten parenting articles for CanadianParents and Today’s Parent.

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What is your favourite part aboutrunning your business?

I love my customers, and all thefriends I’ve met through Elanne & Ivy.I am also thrilled that I can work frommy home.

What are your challenges?

Juggling working from home withhome-schooling my kids and beinga busy mom. It’s difficult to find theperfect work-life balance when theyare all so intertwined.

How/why do you personally findfulfillment in your business?

My jewellery brings joy to manypeople, and I genuinely love mycustomers.

What other interests or activities areyou involved in?

I love animals and gardening. Cookingand re-purposing furniture are alsopassions of mine. Basically, anythingand everything creative.

Where can people purchase yourproducts?

I sell mainly through Facebook(www.facebook.com/elanneivy) but Ialso sell at a variety of local artisanshows, sometimes in stores and frommy home studio as well.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICESAND SPIRIT BABIES

by Christine Nightingale

A woman who is seeing a (male)therapist about the unexpectedterrible aftermath of having atermination told me that her therapistis advising her to get over it, it’s no bigdeal. He is showing her videos about,supposedly, Neil de Grasse Tysonsaying human life is all an accident.

Neil Degrasse Tyson is a brilliantastronomer, and I have never readanything by him that indicates he doesnot believe in the spirituality of life.Quite the opposite. And if he has saidthat somewhere, I do not have toagree with him!

My own experiences with angels andpast life memories started when I wasa baby. Yet growing up in amaterialistic culture (with an agnosticfather and a never-talk -aboutimportant things type of mother), Ishut down (talking about theseexperiences) at age 5. I learned tokeep all that inside for years...until Iwas 46 and took Reiki, which wasimmediately followed by my receivingmessages from the deceased relativesof the people who came to me forhelp.

Reiki is not particularly mysterious.Every loving mother knows thephenomenon of a child with a minorinjury running to her to kiss it better.

Every good friend knows that a hugcan be better than any words whencomfort is needed. And the lovingtouch really does heal, with the simpleintent to heal leading to a transfer ofwarm energy.

But a big part of my spiritual re-awakening came when I realised thatthe medical establishment was worsethan useless at the time of themiscarriage of my first baby, when Iwas looking for answers that madesense.

My own spirit baby comforted mewhen I was carrying him (in my nextpregnancy) by giving me the sign Iasked for. He came to me in a dream,running toward me in a field offlowers. This reassured me as nothingelse could have.

It’s so tiresome when people whoshould know better (counselors whodeal with the indomitable humanspirit, and doctors who deal with themiraculous human body) refuse tounderstand that we are more thanphysical accidents of evolution. Weare much more!

Above all, we are spiritual beings,living on a planet which in itself is amajor miracle, a self-sustaining systemwhich despite human interference(over the last 200 years especially),manages to provide for most of herplant, animal and human children in amarvelous way.

We are spiritual beings having ahuman experience, and not the onlyone...one of many. Mama Nature doesnot waste souls.

A lot of people choose to believe in aferocious, hate-filled, judgemental oldwhite man in the sky. They eveninvoke supposed eternal punishmenton distressed young women who donot feel themselves able to carry achild to term because of acombination of factors, often includinglack of partner support.

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Personally I feel much better aboutbelieving, as the indigenous peopleson every continent have always done,in Mother Earth, Mother Ocean, andMother Moon, who love all theirchildren.

As to the mind-boggling part of whatwe are doing to ourselves, here aresome of the stats. A generation ago 6%of couples world -wide had fertilityissues. Now the figures are 17%! Whyis this not front page news?

My local paper, The Toronto Star, hada feature article about how 50% ofmen have a reduced sperm count.

Mother Nature is saying very clearly,“You are destroying your only home,this Garden of Eden planet, with allyour toxins and chemicals. You are alsodestroying the human race.”

(Maybe the Garden of Eden myth isactually a foretelling of human hubris,believing ourselves too wise to obeynatural laws, leading to our destroyingand thus casting ourselves out of thegarden we were given to live in.)

The majority of Spirit Babies want tobe part of the solution to ourenvironmental problems. I see overand over again that the New Children(Rainbow, Star Seed, Crystal, Indigo),whose task is to soften people’shearts and change the world into aspiritual place again, need theirparents to go on a spiritual journey ofdiscovery. This is precisely why somany mothers and fathers are nowreconnecting with the spiritualawareness which humanity has sorecently let go of, and which we needto invite back into all our lives.

EMPOWERED HEALINGby Julia Petrisor

My mother died at age 42, when I was15 years old. While this event sent mespinning, untethered, for many years,now, 30 years after the fact, I feelprofound gratitude for her death. Ibelieve it was the catalyst that led meto develop an entirely new under-standing of health and healing, one inwhich I feel empowered and whole.

What I’ve learned on this journey isthat our bodies are wise beyond whatwe might ever imagine; indeed, whilewe seek others to be our healers, intruth, we are really the healers. Notonly do we have the choice of how torespond to our health issues, we mustbe our own advocates in the face ofcollective and systemic beliefs aboutwhat healthcare and healing are.Doing so allows us to step into a new,empowered way of seeing ourselves,one in which we truly are our ownhealers.

I must explain that by no means is myintention to write an indictment of themainstream medical model or criticizehealing arts practitioners who chooseto call themselves “healers.” I havealways felt so blessed to be Canadian,to have access to healthcare, and Ihave deep respect for our healthcareproviders and the incredible servicethey give. I also have great respect forour healing arts practitioners and thevarying modalities of healing thatpeople offer.

Still, I believe there has long been adisempowering undercurrent to theway the mainstream medical system ispresented to people, that establishesthe doctors as the healers, and thepeople as uninformed and ignorant oftheir own bodies. And I’m not justsingling out doctors here; there arecertainly many healing arts practition-ers who are willing to have individualstrust them to “heal” them. This justfeeds a belief that doctors and healingarts practitioners are doing the“healing” for us, when in truth theyare just the guide, meant to help usaccess our own innate healingabilities.

My journey to understandingempowered healing began when Imoved to B.C. at age 18. It was likelyno coincidence that I met open-minded, alternative thinkers rightaway. Also, having learned aboutbreast cancer after watching mymother endure it, I understoodenough to know to avoid deodorantscontaining aluminum, shampoos withparabens and phthalates in them, andto do my own breast self-examsregularly. I was interested in a natural,holistic, organic lifestyle, and set outon that path.

Along the way, I studied nutrition andherbs in my free time, fascinated bythe roles food and herbs play in ourhealth, and even more fascinated bythe fact that (at the time) mostdoctors disregarded this relationshipentirely. I couldn’t believe there wasso much evidence of the relationship

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between how we eat and our healththat the mainstream system wascompletely disregarding! Trusting mynew knowledge—as well as myintuition—I began eating (andcontinue to eat) an organic diet for themost part, sourcing high-quality,hormone-free and organic meat (soonbecoming vegetarian entirely),exercised, and sought therapy when Iwas struggling emotionally. What I wasreally doing, even though there wasno one labelling it as such at the time,was something I came to call“preventive healing.” Instead ofwaiting to get sick and be cured, Iactively sought to maintain a state ofgood health.

My understanding of healing andhealer continued to grow and deepenover the years. I learned about thework of Louise Hay who, although notthe first to link how emotions affectphysical health, managed to writeabout it in a way that was accessibleto a wide audience while also startingto perforate mainstream messaging.

Now I had another layer to mypreventive health approach; managingmy emotions. Perhaps because of thedeath of my mother, perhaps not, Iembarked on a spiritual journey. Istarted practicing yoga and soondeveloped a daily practice which Imaintained for over a decade. I wentto ecstatic dance events every chanceI could. I sat in ceremony with nativeteachers and shamans and exploredplant medicines. Eventually, I beganmeditating, and studying in theTheravadan and Vipassana Buddhisttraditions.

Through these practices, I was able tounderstand my emotions andreactions in a clearer way. I knew, fromreading Louise Hay, that not only did Ihave to eat well, exercise, and nourishmy body, I also had to pay attention tomy emotions, the messages my bodywas sending me, and stay open tospirit. I also knew that I did not want

resentments and angers to fester,especially, as they contributed todiseases like cancer or liver issues. Thisunderstanding fueled my belief in mybody’s innate wisdom.

In early 2015, I discovered theQuantum Healing Hypnosis Technique,a profound hypnosis techniquedeveloped by Dolores Cannon, andthis served to amplify myunderstanding of the nature of healthand healing.

As I worked with more and moreclients, my belief that we are our ownhealers began to reveal itself in atangible way. What was a beliefbecame a deep knowing for me as Iwitnessed clients both allow theirbodies to guide them to a healing, ordisallow a healing. It was evident thatthe client was in control, and I wasmerely the conduit, there to helpthem connect to their body’s wisdom.

I’ve encountered many people forwhom this belief, that we are our ownhealers, triggers massive resistance.After all, it’s so much easier to be avictim in this world than to actuallytake responsibility. It’s so much easierto blame others than go within to seehow we can learn from thesesituations. Still, when we takeresponsibility for our lives, we becomeempowered. From this place, we canexperience empowered healing.

As a hypnotist, knowing this has beenincredibly liberating. I am able to helpclients while also knowing full wellthat I am no magician; indeed, I amnot a healer. Instead, I empowerclients to discover and connect withtheir own source of infinite wellnessand wisdom locked within theirunique bodies and minds. I feel deeplygrateful to have found this work andto be able to help others in this way. Ican’t help but wonder, would I haveever found this had my mother notdied? Perhaps, perhaps not; the worldworks in mysterious ways. All the

same, I bow in gratitude to the loss Iexperienced at such a young age andfeel wonder and joy at the directionmy life has taken me since.

To learn more about QHHT or book asession with Julia, please contact her

at [email protected],or find her on MeetUp -

https://www.meetup.com/Quantum-Healing-Hypnosis-QHHT-

Group-Regression/

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SPIRITUAL NUTRITION: HOW THE FOODS YOU EAT AFFECT

YOUR MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT

In almost every culture, food has longplayed a dual physical and spiritualrole, and with that, many rules havebeen handed down. The Jewishtradition forbids eating pork, theHindus forbid eating beef, and manyNative American tribes prohibit eatingfoods that are not sacred. Conversely,there are spiritual foods that bestowspiritual power. Indigenous cere-monies are often based on stringentrules regarding what foods to serve.

Sometimes the remedy lies in what wetake in, and sometimes it’s dependentupon what we leave out. The questionis, how do we know what to eat ordrink and what not to? This is thedomain of spiritual nutrition.

In the midst of too many (oftenconflicting) choices, there is the still,small voice within each of us thatknows the answer to our question. It’sthe voice of our intuitive selves, thepart of us that is innately connected toour deepest truth and always attunedto what we need in body, mind, andsoul. Our intuition reminds us to slowdown, listen, and pay attention to themessages and signs that our bodiesare continuously delivering aboutwhich spiritual foods are best for us inany given moment. These messages

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can be transmitted in a variety ofways, such as genuine hunger,cravings, addictions, allergies, goodand bad moods, energy levels fromhigh to low, physical discomfort, andpleasurable sensations. As you beginto understand the subtleties ofspiritual nutrition, you will understandwhat all of these signals mean, asoutlined below.

Food, Mood, And Mind

Cravings are important memos fromthe body and are its way of telling usabout our emotional needs. They canalso provide clues as to the limitingbeliefs or negative self-talk that mightbe contributing to an emotional upset,whether that disruption is a minor,temporary state or a chronic,debilitating pattern. Cravings are toolsand guides in the discipline of spiritualnutrition.

The food and feelings connectionsoutlined here can shed some light onthe interplay between certainthoughts, feelings, and emotions thatmay be seeking your attention.

The Emotional Messages Of Food

Using this list can help you begin toperceive your cravings and foodchoices through a lens of self-acceptance, self-respect, and kindnessand make the shift to eating healthier,spiritual foods as a result.

For instance, if you find that you’veprimarily been eating crunchy foods,such as popcorn, celery, and chips, youmight guess that you are angry. Takesome time to figure out what or whoyou are angry with, and perhaps whatsubtle energy boundaries you believehave been violated or that you areviolating in others.

If your journal page is full of gooey,sticky breadstuffs, you are probablyseeking comfort in all the wrongplaces—in food instead of relation-

ships. By taking stock of your diet, youcan get in touch with your inner heartand respond to your deeper needs inmore self-loving ways than literallyfeeding your feelings, which is idealwhen living in alignment with thetenets of spiritual nutrition. If youchange your attitude and behavior,your food cravings and dietary habitswill also become healthier.

Crunchy foods: Anger. Crunchy foodshelp us act out our anger in a safe way,providing us an outlet so we don’thave to deal with the people orcircumstances causing us to be angry.

Salty foods: Fear. We crave salty foodsbecause we want to have more “spice”in our lives but are too scared to takea risk.

High-gluten or wheat products:Comfort and safety. What’s morecomforting than a warm cinnamonroll, mashed potatoes, or a bowl ofpasta? Gluten products give us thecomfort and safety we need in a non-threatening way. Has a cinnamon rollever rejected you?

Sugar: Excitement. When we can’tprovide excitement for ourselves,sugar does it for us; if we’re unable toallow someone else to share joy withus, we can use sugar as a substituteplaymate.

Dairy (milk, ice cream, fattycheese): Love. Our first food wasmilk—mother’s milk. Rich, sugary,and/or fatty dairy products representthe unconditional love we received—or were supposed to receive—duringinfancy. We crave dairy products andfoods when we desire unconditionallove and protection and can’t find it inour everyday lives.

Chocolate: Sexual drive. We’re allsensual, sexual beings. Eatingchocolate is a safe way to feel sensualwhen our life lacks romance. It’s alsoa substitute for the sex and physical

love we need but might be toofrightened to obtain.

Alcohol: Acceptance. If you don’t feelaccepted for who you really are, orworse, if you were punished for beingyourself when you were young,alcohol can provide the illusion of self-acceptance. It can also protect youfrom the perceived dangers ofintimacy. The sugar in alcohol canserve as a substitute for excitement.The corn in alcohol can buffer feelingsof failure, and grain alcohol can give usthe warm feelings we might lack in ourrelationships.

Corn: Success. We all want to be andto feel successful. Eating corn or cornproducts can not only momentarilyimbue us with a sense of professionalsuccess, but also cushion us fromdeep-seated feelings of insecurity andfailure.

Fatty foods: Shame. Fatty foods hideour internal shame. They also cocoonus in a bubble of shame (fat) so we’resafe from other people. After all,letting someone in close might makeus feel even worse about ourselves.

The Mental Messages Of Food

The following are common limitingbeliefs and negative internal messagesrelated to certain foods, spiritual andotherwise.

Crunchy foods: Anger causes trouble.If someone is angry with me, theydon’t love me.

Salty foods: It’s dangerous to bevibrant or enthusiastic. Being differentcauses rejection. Girls don’t take risks.It’s not safe to take risks.

High-gluten or wheat products: Noone will give me what I really need.The world isn’t safe. I can’t rely onanyone but myself for love or comfort.

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Sugar: It’s not okay (it’s evil) to havefun. I don’t deserve to be joyful.

Dairy (milk, ice cream, or cheese): Iam unlovable. No one will ever loveme the way I really am. Love isconditional.

Chocolate: Sex is bad. My sensuality isdangerous.

Alcohol: People will hurt me if I showwho I really am. No one will accept mytrue self.

Corn: Success leads to pride. I am afailure. I will never succeed.

Fatty foods: I am a bad person. I don’tdeserve anything good. I am unworthyof love.

This information will hopefully shine alight on the unconscious beliefs thatmight be active in your subtle energysystem and keeping you from movingdeeper into the practices of spiritualnutrition.

The above article was reprinted from:www.consciouslifestylemag.com/spiritual-nutrition-food-vibration/

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WHEN YOURNORMAL ISN’T THE NORM

by Sandra Wilson

I am reading a book about apersonality known as scanner. It hasbeen a wonderful read because it hasallowed me to understand myselfbetter.

I am the type of person that has 3books on the go, watches twotelevision shows at the same time andhas numerous ongoing projects atvarying degrees of completeness. Thisis not the easiest way to flow throughlife created by society as ‘normal’.

Many people and situations prefer youto start and finish something beforeyou begin something new. They like tofocus on one thing at a time and movetowards a goal of success in that onething. The jack-of-all- trades-but-master-of-known persona is notsomething people see with envy orawe but rather with lack of respect.People want to feel sorry for theperson who isn’t very good at anythingbecause they try so many things.Society pushes us to pick a career andpursue that until you are a master inyour field.

Scanners prefer to learn about manythings, they love to learn and discoverbut do not need to master somethingspecific. Once their curiosity is satiatedthey may just drop that subject andmove on to something else. I myselfwill often take online courses that varywidely in subject matter and often,after about six months, I stop taking

courses in order to pursue anotherinterest. Many would see this asscattered, someone who cannotcommit or will not settle down. Butthis is not a personality type to beseen as wrong or lacking. This is aperson with the love of discovery, theenthusiasm to explore and thewildness to run from one thing to thenext. These people are the inventors,the creatives and the explorers.

The world needs to have the detail-oriented experts; it needs theorganization and focus. But, it alsoneeds wildness, fun and spontaneity.It isn’t for the scanners to change to be‘normal’ but for the perception insociety to change to understand thatthere are different types of normaland each one brings its own brillianceto the world.

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SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE WITHINby Danielle Hughes

Seeking guidance from Spirit oftencomes in the form of going to others.At times, receiving messages from anobjective source can help shed light ina situation where you are too close ortoo caught up emotionally. Often weforget that the most profoundmessages come from within us.Intuition and guidance are available toyou at all times and that inner voicewill provide the most profoundmessages.

In a time when we are always lookingoutward for answers, it is easy toforget how much wisdom we innatelyhold. Listening to that voice inside canbe difficult at first; it’s like workingwith a new muscle. You have tocontinue to build strength and as itbuilds up you will be able to hear itmore clearly and trust that wisdomthat comes through.

Intuition Exercises are a great way tohelp build that inner voice and your

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MyAdventureCalledLife

trust in that inner wisdom. Here aresome of my favourite exercises tobuild the inner voice:

Inner Eye Exercise

Sit quietly; relax your body and yourmind. Pay special attention to themuscles around your forehead andeyes…allow the muscles to melt away.As thoughts come into your mind,acknowledge them and then let themgo…imagine them flowing out withyour breathe. Focus your attention onthe centre of your forehead, with youreyes closed. Imagine this is a chalkboard, a blank chalk board. Allowyourself to create the image of an eye.Have fun with this, you can make itplain or as elaborate as an eye ofHorus. Focus on the eye, allow the eyeto become clearer and clearer. Holdthe image as long as you can. Do thisexercise once a day for a week.

Inner Eye Part 2

Begin the same as with Inner Eye 1…See your Inner Eye…now focus onallowing that eye to open. Imagine theeye lid lifting little by little until it isfully open. Congratulations! You havenow connected to your Intuition! Keepworking with this, Do this exercisebefore any healing work to help openyour intuition. As you work with itmore and more, it will open quickerand quicker until this exercise willoccur in just a few seconds.

Colour Countdown

This exercise is to be done daily. It is ameditation practice that will help toincrease your visualization. Sit or laycomfortably. Close your eyes, take 10deep cleansing breaths, count downfrom 10 to 1 to clear your mind andrelax your body. With eyes closedfocus on your forehead ( your innereye), see a blank chalk board. Visualizethe number 7 now visualize a red 7,wipe the chalk board clean and thencountdown to 1 following the colours

of the chakras. Red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-purple. This is bestdone daily until you are comfortablewith it. The more you work with it, themore sharp the image of the numberand clearer the colour will become.

Explore within and find that spiritualguidance. Each person carries theability to tap into it, begin buildingyour skill and see how far you can go!When you need an objective person,seeking out the right tarot reader,psychic or medium can be beneficialbut it is important to build your innervoice so you know who will work foryou and when you need outsidesupport.

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Dear Angels,

My sister is ill and maybe close todeath. She has led a less than Godlylife, and she is not open to me prayingfor her, but I still want to. How can Ihelp her?

Maribel K., Toronto

Dear Maribel,

Never underestimate the power ofprayer! Your sister may not want tohear your prayers, but when she findsout how much they helped her, andthey will help her, she will be verygrateful to you. Whenever it is that shepasses away, she will be guided toreview her life including everythingthat she did for others and everything

they did for her. If you don’t pray forher, you may wish you had. It is best tofollow your heart, and you will want tohave done all you can for her withoutoffending her in any way. If you feelstrongly about praying for her, it maybe that it is part of your purpose to doso. You don’t need to have someone’spermission to pray for them. Godwants you to pray to Him, and that’swhat really matters. Therefore, prayfor her in a quiet space away from alldistractions and people, and tell heronly if you feel it is the right thing todo.

You may want to pray for your sister’ssalvation and that she opens her heartand mind to allow God and His angelsin. They will make a huge difference inyour sister’s life especially in the lastfew weeks or months of her earth-days. Guardian angels are the oneswho escort us up the light tunnel atthe end of our lives. Connecting withthem can bring a peace that surpassesall understanding. Caring close friendsand family members have access to aperson’s angels; you can activate yoursister’s angels and speak to them asyou would your own. You can askthem for anything that you thinkwould help her, such as, less pain andfear and more calmness, more love,and more co-operation. Because ofthe law of free will, we must ask theangels for help.

When you pray, you may ask God tosend healing angels to help heal yoursister and refresh her body back tohealth. You may also ask forministering angels to help her changeher ways of thinking so she may havea healthy body and a more joyful andhelpful life. You may want to sendwarrior angels to protect her from theenemy and from any negativity thatmay surround her from the spiritualand from the physical realms.

Please remember that you can onlyoffer your sister help. You can openthe door, but she is the one who has

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Dear Angels ...________________

JILL MICHELLE

to walk through it. God has given usfree will, so it is important to honourthat.

Your angels by Jill Michelle

Please send your questions [email protected]. I look

forward to hearing from you.

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HOW PAST LIFE & SPIRITUALJOURNEYS HELP HEAL AND

EMPOWER YOUR LIFEby Allan Green

This is one of the greatest times to bealive on Earth, along with that comeschange that is immense. This is thefirst time in the history of the Universethat a planet is ascending with thepeople.

For example, 2016 was the last yearwhen we were to be the savour,rescuer or the fixer for anyone. We canhelp empower people, but we are notto do the work for them anymore. Asof 2017, no one is the saviour, rescueror fixer for us!

Two thousand and eighteen is the yearfor, “To thy own self be true” andwhen we all are supported by theuniverse and powers that be to movefully into our Spiritual Mastery,whatever that is for us. Many relation-ships are ending that are not meant tobe.

When I work with people it is not areading, but a journey I can see whatyou see and feel what you feel and younever forget it for life. There is nohypnotism, or putting you into ameditative state. Therefore as a partof every session we meet with yourSpirit Guides and talk with peoplepassed over and many people evenhelp send people or animals that aretrapped to the light. We can see if you

have wings. You could be an angel inhuman form, a fairy in human form,along with that people have foundthat they are creator Gods, who cameon the planet in spirit to help her getstarted and now have reincarnated tohelp her in the process of finalascension.

I have met 23 people who are dragonsin human form and this year 3 peoplewho are half dragon and half human…I know I deal in weird, but for thepeople I serve it is totally under-standable and life-changing. Lots ofpeople have their own dragon in spiritas a helper guide.

Twenty-three years ago a womancame to me and said, “I’m not fromthis planet, I don’t like living here andI want to go home!” I said, “I don’t dothat kind of stuff”, and she said, “WellI am suicidal and if you don’t help meI may not be around!” (No pressure…)So I found a way to get her off theplanet in spirit and she went at lightspeed through the universe, landed onher home planet, turned into an alien,talking to another alien. (I was freakedout!) She came back and said I nowsee my mission and purpose and I amnot committing suicide, thank you andshe left…since that date 23 years ago Ihave seen and experienced 586 alienspecies and home planets withpeople. Most of us are from some-where else, I am a Pleiadian. My wifeCatherine is a Sirian. Earth is the greattesting ground for all to learn andgrow and be more love.

The advantages of doing past lifejourneys are unlimited, if you have anissue with someone, and you can clearit up in a past life, it can be clearednow. Just by awareness of thesituation or root cause can heal it now.There are almost fifty people I haveworked with that have totally healedmigraine headaches that they havehad all whole their life, because itcomes from a head wound in a pastlife. We energetically heal it during the

journey and it heals the migraine now.Only you can heal you, I am just theguide to help you, not even Christcould heal people, unless theybelieved they could be healed,because of free will.

One lady had nine major allergies;when she came out of the past life,seven of them disappeared.

The sessions are controlled by yourguides; I am just the plug in to the wallso to speak, and it is your guides thatbring the people to me. A saying Iinvented is, I am hired by the guidesand paid by the people.

Many people wish to find out abouttheir mission and purpose, it could bea spiritual mission as a seer, psychic, amedium or channellers, a healer, or adifferent type of career, or a missionto get back with someone again towork out karma or enjoy together in adifferent culture, maybe this time withkids. We have a soul group of up to 12souls/people that re-incarnate ofteninto the same area to help us on anintimate level, and a soul family of upto 144 that are really close, and whenyou are back together it is like youhave never parted.

The youngest I have worked with is sixyears old during a past life journey. Youdon’t say “Let’s go back into your pastlives;” they do not know what thatmeans at a young age, so I say “Let’sgo back to the time before you metyour mother” and they have perfectsuccess. Most children remembertheir past lives up to the age of eight,which seems to be the cut-off age forviewing.

One 3 year old asked his dad if hecould help paint, whereupon the dadsaid, “No son, you are too young topaint.” The son replied, “But Dad, I wasa painter; they put me on a table, cutme with a scalpel and I died…” Wheredoes a 3 year old get the wordscalpel?

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Finding why you have a fear or phobiaor aversion, like heights, water, orsnakes can alleviate those issues inthis life very quickly. Walkins, Innerchild, Blocks, Akaschic Records…maybe shown.

I never have to rent any movies; I cansee and feel it all with you!

Allan’s lastest book,Pastlife.allan, can be purchased from

him directly at allangreen.ca,or on Amazon or Kobo.

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BUILD YOUR MIND-MUSCLECONNECTION: MAXIMIZE YOUR

RESULTS IN THE GYM AND IN LIFEby Amanda Gazzola

People new to training includingmyself jump right in without givingmuch thought on HOW to train. Weknow our goal most of the time is tolose weight but we don’t know how totrain to achieve it.

If you are new to working out youshould not be copying the programs ofindividuals much more advanced thanyou. This is a recipe for injury and youmight actually have worse results thenif you completed a proper beginnertraining routine.

When you first start, start slowly andtry to work the entire body threetimes a week. Use weights that areeasier to handle so that you canmaster the correct form for theexercise and really focus on feeling themuscle.

The reason to start lighter and feel themuscle is because development of thismind-muscle connection is one of themost valuable lessons of a trainingprogram. When you learn how tomaster this, the results of ANY exerciseprogram you try will be improveddramatically!

So what exactly do I mean by ‘feeling’the muscle? It is the feeling ofactivating or squeezing the muscle. Ifyou do this while performing anexercise that targets that muscle, youwill have a completely different feelingin the muscle.

This can be quite difficult forindividuals new to working out but thebest way to think about it is tensingthe muscle as you perform therepetition. Similar to how you tenseyour stomach muscles in anticipationof receiving contact you want tocontract your biceps as hard aspossible during curls or your legs ashard as possible during presses.

There are certainly muscles that areharder to squeeze then others,particularly the shoulders and theback muscles can be difficult. This iswhen taking it slowly can really help.For instance, when performing anexercise such as shoulder raises, manyindividuals will use momentum andtheir entire arm to raise the weight.Instead, use a light enough weight thatyou can focus on feeling and squeezingyour shoulders while keeping just aslight bend in your arm.

The mind muscle connection like I saidis a difficult concept to teach. Butthrough repetition, practice andconsistency through training, Iguarantee you that you will begin tosee and feel a difference from liftingthe weight without focus.

When you have mastered the formand begin to feel and push the weightat the same time then you are readyto start adding more weight!

Here are 3 different ways to masterthe mind-muscle connection:

Reset Between Reps

Don’t rush your sets. Focus is power,good rep set up leads to goodperformance. Most people rush their

sets because they are focused ongetting their set done rather thanreally squeezing the muscle andthinking about the concentricmovement.

Resetting between reps is a great wayto refocus. You perform eachindividual rep with mental focus. Thestronger the focus the stronger liftperformance—your mind staysfocused on the task and your body isset up for a strong movement.

Focusing on breathing

Breathing is to live, as it allows thehuman body to obtain the energy itneeds to support itself and itsactivities. Sad thing is most people donot know how to breathe properly andtake short, shallow breaths. Which inturn leaves us feeling disconnected,stressed and have higher anxiety. Ifyou’ve practiced yoga, you may befamiliar with the idea that focusing onbreath can connect the mind andbody. Concentrating on breathingclears distractions from the brain andreleases tension that may stopmuscles from working efficiently.

Even if yoga isn’t your thing, I highlyrecommend taking a few yoga classesto learn more about the connectionbetween mind, body, and breath.

Focus on visualization

Think of what it was like to ride a bikewhen you were little. You had topractice, practice, and then practicemore. Remember when you used tovisualize yourself riding a bike. Themind muscle connection is nodifferent. You have to practice it.When you are doing squats, lunges,push ups, mountain climbers, burpeesas well as yoga, biking, running.Putting an image in your head of whatyou’re about to do is crucial. Researchshows that visualization can evenstrengthen muscles. For example, onestudy demonstrated that people who

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visualized working out muscles in thelittle finger were able to increase thefinger’s muscle strength. Beforeworkouts, imagine the exercises you’replanning to do. For instance, pictureeach motion your arm will makeduring a perfect bicep curl.

Think of this way. You want to learnhow to become more present in life.This is how you learn. Taking time outand focusing on the breath, move-ments and form -- helps you tobecome more connected to yourself.Practicing these exercises daily willhelp you not only tackle your goals inthe gym and studio but will also helpthrough stressful situations. Next timeyou area at the gym or yoga session.Focus on the mind muscle connection.Continuously checking in with yourselfby resetting your surroundings, takinga breath and visualizing your goal(s) isthe key to success, seeing improve-ments in the gym and feelingconnected with family, work and mostimportantly yourself.

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THE FOURTH ANNUALCANAL PURSUITby Clay Williams

The fourth annual Canal Pursuit forMental Health is coming up soon, andplans are coming along nicely.

As I do the usual work of organizingthe runners and maps, send out pressreleases and reach out to politiciansand potential sponsors along theroute, I can’t help thinking about howmany hours I’ve put into this projectover the years, and how rewarding ithas been for me.

It started out as a personal challenge.I would run a multi-day race along theErie and then Welland canals, a totalof about 750 km, and raise funds for amental health charity. It would be thefurthest I had ever run and I washoping it would be the biggest

fundraiser. But a very fortunate thinghappened; the Erie Canal race wascancelled so I had to create my ownrunning route, and from that I tookownership and control of the event.

I spent days plotting a course thatstarted at the lock in Port Severn, wentto every lock on the Trent Severn canalthat you would pass through if youwere travelling by boat, all the way toTrenton, then across to Kingston andalong the Rideau Canal to Ottawa. Thetotal distance was approximately 785km. I had to find safe roads to run on,off of the major highways to keep mesafe and on the right side of the law,and I had to find a few shortcuts tokeep the shortest possible distancefrom one lock to the next. I found afew online tools to help me create theroute, but also had to make a few roadtrips to verify what the maps told me.I discovered that the online maps werenot always correct.

I created a system for managing thetime, location, distance and pacerunner data, and keeping it organizedand flexible because I knew that as therun progressed I was not going to beable to maintain a steady pace. Thework of creating the route andorganizing the runners has given mesome experience that is going to bevaluable for a couple of upcomingprojects; a kayak trip along the sametwo canals, and a 4,000 km run toMexico. More details will be releasedin the coming months.

I had recruited a very dedicatedsupport crew, they had bookedvacation time to help me run thisdistance, and were as dedicated to thetask as I was. I started looking forsponsors to help me cover some of thecosts of doing the run, and found afew companies that were willing tohelp. I knew that the best way for meto run the course as quickly as possiblewas to have a motorhome, or RV meetme at the end of each of my runningsegments so I could get to sleep as

quickly as possible, avoiding a lengthydrive to a hotel or billet’s house.

So I started looking for an RV donor inthe winter, contacted every RV dealerand rental company I could find, butnone were willing to offer a discountor free RV for the week of the run.

At a race expo in March I was intro-duced to a young man named WayneCho. He had run across Canada in2009 and across the States in 2012 forbipolar awareness, and he had pur-chased a 25 foot motorhome that hehad used as his chase vehicle for bothruns. He said he would rent it to mefor half the price of the best deal Icould get from a rental company, andthat he would be selling it in thesummer. Eventually he was my onlychoice if I wanted to have an RV so Icontacted him to rent it from him.

I was willing to pay $800.00 for the tendays of the event, but he really wantedto sell the RV and he knew I would beusing it for a charity run so he sold itto me for under $4,000.00. I have toadmit that I thought I would never buya motorhome. But I have one now,with Canal Pursuit logos all over it, andI go through the annual work ofwinterizing, and then preparing for theannual run.

The plan for the first year’s run was tohave as much media coverage aspossible, so I had to learn as much as Icould about the charity that I chose towork with, the Mood DisordersSociety of Canada, so that I couldpromote the work that they are doing.

The more I learned about the mentalhealth of Canadians, and the mentalhealth care system, the morecompelled I was to do more than justraise funds for a charity, but to getinvolved, try to help in some moresignificant way.

I’m not a therapist or councillor, so Ican’t directly help people, but I can

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talk with people. The Canal Pursuit hasgiven me the opportunity and themotivation to talk with a lot of people.

I know this might sound like a weakthread, but I think talking with a lot ofpeople can accomplish a couple ofthings.

First of all, I believe that the more aperson hears about mental health, theless uncomfortable they becomehearing about it and talking about it.Kind of like the good version of beingdesensitized to violence by playingviolent video games. Becoming lessuncomfortable talking about mentalhealth is a step toward ending theassociated stigma.

And second, I think that politicalattention and ultimately financesfollow the topics that are mostimportant and most discussed by

people and media. By talking as muchas possible about our mental healthcare system, maybe I can encourageconversations not just across thekitchen table but across the boardroom table, the floor of the legislatureand parliament, and if I’m really luckyI can talk with some of the legislatorswho make the financial decisionsabout our health care funding. I don’tknow how to bring about a bettermental health care system, but I cantalk to lots of people, and trust thatthere are smarter people than me outthere who can do the right thing.

By creating and running the CanalPursuit for Mental Health for fouryears, I’ve had the opportunity tomeet a lot of amazing people, hone afew skills and develop some new ones,and I have an RV!!

* * *

YOGA: HELPING TO MANAGESTRESS FOR OVER 3,000 YEARS

by Susan Stewart

When I completed my Yoga TeacherTraining in 1992, I began to teachalmost immediately. My programdirector knew of a vacancy at a studioin my area and I was lucky enough tohave the opportunity to begin rightaway. I loved it.

I felt such gratitude at being able toteach and share something that I waspassionate about. I knew how muchmy practice had helped me throughsome of my life’s most difficultchallenges.

After four years we moved to a smallercommunity where I was the rarity, theoddball (but I did not know this, ofcourse).

One of my lasting memories wasformed as a result of the request thatI had made to rent our local facility.My intention was to offer a yoga classin response to the interest expressedby a few of my new neighbours, whowere eager to explore the experienceof yoga.

I can still feel the echo of the shock tomy system when I called back a weeklater to confirm the rental and wasinformed that I would not be allowedto use the space. When I asked why, itwas stated that the guardians of thespace had looked up yoga in thedictionary and had found that it had itsroots in Hinduism, and that if I wasteaching those classes, I was obviouslyan ‘evil cult leader’ and they could notrent me the space for those activities.

I am not kidding. That was in 1996.The thought occurred to me that wehad taken a wrong turn and had falleninto a time warp of some kind. I hadnever before experienced that degreeof true ignorance and judgment. It feltthreatening to me. I, in my naiveté,attempted to explain that Sheridan

12

College did not offer courses in cultleadership, and on and on; I wasunsuccessful in my attempts to informtheir point of view.

I became extremely stressed by theseevents, advising my husband that weneeded to list our new home for saleimmediately, as these people knewwhere I lived (next door to the facility)and I was certain they did not want meresiding in their neighbourhood.

He listened to my ranting, offeredsupport, and then suggested that Iembrace my yogic practice even moredeeply. He reminded me of how yogahad helped me navigate through otherdistressing life events, such as loss,illness and death in our family.

Thankfully, I took his advice. It worked.After six months, I came out of hidingand set up yoga and meditationclasses in a nearby community, whichwelcomed its benefits and me.

Eventually, I even offered classes inour own small community and peopleactually attended and enjoyed thebenefits of yoga! For me, the point ofall of this was that I realized that aftersix months of engaging deeply in myown personal practice, I had gainedaccess to my own inner strength andcourage, and was then compelled toget out there and offer the gift of yogato whoever wanted it. If no one did,that was fine too. But I had to offer itbecause I knew what the practicecould bring to a life.

I learned a lot about myself in those sixmonths and that is one of the thingsthat I love most about yoga. It workson the physical body, of course, but italso works on mind and spirit as well,in the most subtle of ways, even whenyou are not aware that you need to dosome work! It brings out the best inyou. Stress does not.

Yes, I understand that we all needsome level of healthy stress in our lives

so that we continue to get up andfunction, blah, blah, blah. No, I amreferring to the kind of soul-destroyingstress levels that can create dis-ease ina body. Been there. Was doing that.Almost got the t-shirt.

Stress can be the not-so-silent killer. Itcan create havoc with blood pressureand other body systems. There havebeen many recent studies docu-menting the benefits of yoga andmeditation for all sorts of physical,mental and emotional challenges. Ienjoy reading them because it is sovery exciting to see yoga and all of itslimbs (i.e. meditation, breath work,postures, etc.) being embraced by themainstream once again, as it wascenturies ago, as a valuable tool thatwill encourage and support wellness.

I am my own proof. You can be yours.Yoga has saved my life a few times. Itcan do the same for you… simplypracticed each day for a few momentsin time. Get a book or a DVD that afriend may have suggested. Take aclass with a teacher that you feel aconnection with. Just get started.Begin.

The invitation is to be mindful aboutthe moments of your life, yourmovements, your breath, yourthoughts, your fears, and your joys.Become your own witness, theobserver of your self. This moment, inwhich you accept the invitation toobserve, gives you the blessedopening to reflect and then torespond, rather than react. What adifference that can make. Justimagine.

Let’s begin…

Sitting comfortably or lying on yourmat, allow your eyes to softly close…simply noticing your breath…the goingin and the coming out…the going inand the coming out. Feeling it as itmoves in thru your nostrils, down intoyour lungs, noticing the expansion, notforcing it, just allowing it, andobserving all of the sensations. Thecoolness as it enters - the warmth inthe exhale. When you become awarethat your mind has drifted, gently,without judgment, bring your aware-ness back home to your breath…always coming home to your breath.Continue in this manner for 5, 10 or 15minutes, whatever seems right to you.

When it is complete, simply noticehow you are feeling in that moment.Calmer, more centred, balanced, witha sense of clarity? It may be any, all ofthe above or none at all. We allexperience yoga and meditation in ourown unique ways. Whatever your wayis, it will include a slower heart rateand a sense of peacefulness that wasnot present before you began.Congratulations! You have begun.

This is a link to a yoga website with awealth of worthwhile information…enjoy.

http://yogauonline.com/yogatherapy/yoga-for-stress-relief/yoga-for-stress-relief-practice/228101409-study-yoga-helps-preven

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EMOTIONAL ANIMAL SERIESby Sandra Wilson

It is not about the books, it is aboutthe journey. Author Sandra Wilson isworking on a series of EmotionalAnimal books to help childrenunderstand emotions. For each book,Sandra works with a classroom to gainstory ideas and get illustrations oncethe story is written. She has visitedschools from Woodstock to Cobourgwith many stops in between. Theimportance of the project is to havethe children participate in a discussionabout emotions and discuss ideas onhow they can and should respond invarious situations. Then, with theirideas and drawings included in thebook they can see that what they haveto say is important and what they dois amazing.

With each school visit Sandraexperiences the excitement of thechildren having their ideas heard andrecorded. She is met with kindnessand hugs and is sometimes chaseddown the hall to be presented withpaper hearts. (the book KindnessKangaroo says that kindness is giving apaper heart).

The project has evolved as it growsand sometimes the stories change tosuit the children or classroomsituation. One class had trouble with alittle one who kept leaving the roomand running off so Reckless Raccoonbecame a story about safety and theimportance of staying where adultscan see you. Another classroom wasabout to learn about one of theirclassmates who had been diagnosedwith Tourette Syndrome. So, Timid

Turtle hid in his shell because he wasembarrassed about his tics. The classall gave wonderful ideas on how tohelp Timid and so, when they learnabout their classmate they will alreadyknow how to respond and the littleboy won’t feel out of place because hewill be just like Timid.

Although the series of 26 books will bequite an accomplishment Sandra isgaining so much more throughout thejourney of the project. The childrenshe meets all have amazing ideas toshare and the stories they inspire havealready touched so many. Theproudness these children carry whenshowing off their drawings in theprinted books is a reward for Sandralike no other. Sharing the spotlightwith the students of these classes issomething she didn’t even have tothink about. Building confidence andself-esteem in children as well asrecognizing their talents andencouraging their creativity is a joy forthe author to experience.

Sandra hopes that, with the help ofsponsors for the books, she can getthe books into the hands of childrenall over Ontario, through schools andlibraries, and encourage children todraw, to write, to be creative. Shewants children to be able to relate tothe book characters, to see them-selves in the situations and know it isok to feel that way but that maybethere are different options on how toreact with these feelings.

By providing characters with abilitiesof all types Sandra hopes to helpchildren see how similar everyonereally is. A child who struggles inschool (Determined Dog has dyslexia)or struggles in their mind (AnxiousAlligator) has feelings just like anyoneelse and can also make great friends.

It is a journey of love for the author, apassion project that is creating alegacy to be proud of and filling herheart to capacity.

Titles in the series will include: AnxiousAlligator; Bravo Bear; CourageousCaterpillar; Determined Dog; EmpathyElephant; Frightened Flamingo;Grateful Giraffe; Hopeful Hippo;Impatient Iguana; Jealous Jaguar;Kindness Kangaroo; Lovable Lion;Manners Monkey; Nervous Newt;Optimistic Octopus; Pleasant Penguin;Question Quetzal; Reckless Raccoon;Sensitive Sea Lion; Timid Turtle;Unique Urial; Victorious Vole; WhinyWalrus; eXcited Xerus; Yakkety Yak;Zany Zebra.

* * *

SANCTUARYby Marilyn Helmer

“We’re one of the lucky ones,” Doreenannounced as she came into thekitchen. “TV’s saying last night’s stormbrought down power lines south oftown and flooded part of the golfcourse. Thankfully it didn’t do muchdamage around here.”

Rachel stood at the window, staringinto the yard.

“Did you hear me, Daughter? I saidwe’re lucky. The storm pretty muchpassed us over.”

Rachel turned to her mother. “Thestorm took the oak tree.”

Doreen joined her at the window.“Talk about lucky. That darned treewas as old as the hills and asmisshaped as the crooked old manwho walked a crooked mile.” Shesmiled. “Remember? That was yourfavourite poem when you were a kid.”

When Rachel didn’t respond, Doreenwent on. “That tree was beyond ourproperty line on the vacant lot thatbelongs to Ed Dade. He’s coming outwith his boys to cut it up and haul itaway.”

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“It breaks my heart to see it go,”Rachel said.

Doreen sighed. “You spent way toomuch time up in that tree. Even whenyou were a teenager, there you’d be,by yourself when you should’ve beenhanging out with your friends andhaving fun. Like your brother did.”

“Except I didn’t have friends like Bendid,” Rachel said.

“Now don’t you start in on that.”Doreen frowned. “No reason why youcouldn’t have had friends if you’d triedharder.”

Oh, but I did try. Rachel didn’t say thewords out loud. Memories, longpushed aside, clouded her thoughts. Itstarted in grade one, the day she’d wether pants in school because she wastoo shy to ask to be excused. The twomost popular girls in the class neverlet her forget it. Then a growth spurtover the summer earned her thename Beanpole and recurring bouts ofasthma meant that she couldn’t takepart in their games. When the othershung out at the park after school, shecame home to her tree. It became hersanctuary. Even in the winter, bundledup, it welcomed her to its lowerbranches.

“You and Ben was different as nightand day, I’ll grant you that.” Doreensmiled. “I never seen a boy so popular.Soccer, football, baseball, there wasn’ta sport he couldn’t play. And winningthat scholarship to university …” Sheshook her head. “He made us someproud, that boy did.”

Rachel remained silent.

“Now I don’t mean that you didn’tmake us proud too, Daughter.” Doreenput a hand on Rachel’s shoulder.“Come have some lunch.”

“I’m not hungry, Mom.”

“Now don’t be silly.” Doreen frownedagain. “For pity sakes, Daughter, youdon’t want to go mourning a tree.” Sheturned to the stove. “Come now. Imade your favourite soup and thoseCheese muffins you like.”

As they took their places at the table,the screech of a saw started up,shattering the quiet. “That’ll be Ed andhis boys now,” Doreen said.

Rachel forced herself to swallow thesoup, spoonful after spoonful, whilethe sound of the saw grated in herears.

After lunch, Doreen said she was goingto work in the garden.

“I’ll look after the kitchen,” Rachelsaid. She cleared the table and washedthe dishes, never once looking out thewindow. By the time she finished, thenoise had stopped.

Doreen came back in with a handful oftomatoes. “They made short work ofit,” she said. “That old tree’s gone nowlike it had never existed.” She put thetomatoes on the counter. “I’m going toget at the washing. Later we’ll go totown, have a treat in that tea roomyou like.”

Rachel nodded. She would have plentyof time to do what she wanted to do.She went to her room, opened herdesk and sorted through the stack offile folders to the one labeled“Poetry”. She leafed through it untilshe found what she was looking for.

She picked up the laminatednewspaper clipping that showed apicture of her in high school when herpoem won first prize in the province-wide contest. Beneath it was anenvelope of photos her mother hadtaken at the award ceremony. So manyphotos. Her mother had been soproud of her that day.

Rachel sorted through the folder untilshe found a copy of the poem. She gota frame from her dresser, removed thephoto in it and replaced it with thepoem.

I Am

In this tree, near my house,on this old vacant lot,

In this place where I amand my brother is not,

The biggest and bravest,the strongest and boldest,

The shrewdest and smartest,the wisest and oldest.

In my sanctuary, my tree,my own special spot,

In this place where I amand my brother is not.

Rachel went out to the back deck andlooked across the yard. The onlyevidence that the oak tree had everbeen there was the sawdust leftbehind.

She walked over to the empty space,knelt and placed the frame on the spotwhere the oak tree had once stood.

As she started to get up, somethingcaught her attention. Had her eyes notbeen trained to seek out the growingthings that brought so muchhappiness into life, she might havemissed the slender sprout that hadpushed its way through the dark earth.

Rachel reached out and touched thetender leaves of the seedling that wasthe child of her oak tree. She felt asurge of pure, sweet joy for the newlife that would grow tall and strong,that might one day, become someoneelse’s sanctuary.

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Sharing my story about emotional abuse,at the official launch of my Metamorphosis project!

Held at the Purple Door in Cambridge.

In the studio with Kim Davids Mandarof CFRU 93.3 FM's Bookish Radio!

Hot off the press: the two latest books in theEmotional Animal series,

by Sandra Wilson

Saplings Author Malcolm Bernstein’s presentation aboutThe Benjamin Project, held at the Guelph Humane Society.

WATER FROM THE TOPby Lisa Browning

I bought this African violet for mywellness room a few months ago. Ialso bought a pot specifically made forAfrican violets ... which brought backmemories of my first job, many moons(dare I say decades?!) ago .. when thewife of a co-worker made these sametypes of pots, and my (financial) abilityto purchase one was a source of hugesatisfaction for me.

And so .. my violet has been nurtured,and talked to, and appreciated. But inrecent weeks I noticed the flowersbecoming dry, and the leavesbecoming yellow. I couldn't figure itout, because I had attentively filled thelower portion of the pot regularly.

When I was at one of the severalnurseries I frequent, I asked about it,and was told that African violets needto be watered from the top. The two-part pot is to allow the water to drain.Who knew?? I was always told neverto water African violets from the top.

Anyway ... there are two points to thispost (other than to share the photo ofmy most valued African violet):

1. Never assume that you knowwhat's right for someone (orsomething) else.

2. Always water from the top (ie weneed nourishment for our soul, soit can trickle down to our roots)!

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NEXT MONTH ....IN ONE THOUSAND TREES

Our focus for September is Making theMost of Our Time.

You define what is important to you bywhat you dedicate your time to.

~ unknown

Do you have an inspiring story you’dlike to share?

If you know of any community wellnessor charitable events taking place inSeptember, please complete and sendus the Event Listing form found on themagazine page of our website.

Articles are always welcome for any ofour “regular” departments ...

ConnectionsCreativity and the Arts

Food and NutritionGiving Back

Health and WellbeingThe Library

Deadline for submissions isAugust 20.

As always, we look forward to hearingfrom you with any feedback or articleideas!

[email protected]

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