A Special Healing Experience
Whole
Life Network Release
The Whole Life Network is honored to
be able to co-sponsor with the Rocky Mountain Dowsers a great event to get the
new year off to a great start. Harold
McCoy, Founder and Director of the Ozark Research Institute will be in Montrose
on February 11, 12 and 13 , 2005 to teach his 2-day workshop: "Techniques
of Healing with Love, Compassion and the Power of the Focused Mind."
A free introductory lecture will be
conducted for the public on Friday evening, the 11th of February at the
Cimarron Creek Golf Community Center,
901 65.30 Rd. in Montrose. The Friday
lecture will begin at 7:00 pm. The
workshop will be at the same location on the following Saturday and Sunday,
February 12 and 13. The hours of the
workshop will be 10:00 am to 4:30 pm with a 1 and ½ hour lunch break. During this 2-day workshop, Harold will
share his theories on the connection between emotional distress and the
appearance of illnesses in the body, and that by clearing emotional issues we
can frequently bring about physical healing. He will teach the meditation and
visualization techniques he uses to aid others in their healing process. Students will learn how to locate the
energy/auric field and how to correct and energize any imbalances. Techniques for bringing prosperity to a
business or individual and connecting with one's higher source will also be
given.
Harold has established a record of
many incredible healings -- from tumors to diabetes to uterine problems, all
using the "Power of the Focused Mind". He is involved in a research study with the National Institute of
Health for his work on fast growing brain tumors (glioblastomas). His work is in very high demand, as he is
booked several months in advance for healings and workshops. His mission is to teach as many people as
possible the techniques that he uses to accomplish healings.
To Register please fill out the form
on page 2 or for more information contact: Larry Lemser 970 240-0234 or
lemser@montrose.net
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Another Year - Another Expo
Whole
Life Network Release
The 11th Annual Whole Life and
Learning Expo, A Journey Into Conscious Health and Living (formerly the
Health and Wellness Fair) will be held this year back in Montrose at the
Montrose Pavilion on Saturday March 5th. This event is the Spring showcase of
progressive health practice and remedies for the Western Slope. The doors at
Montrose Pavilion will open at 9:30 am and you'll be able to browse for hours.
We ask one and all to mark your calendars now so that you won't miss this
fun-for-everyone event.
As last year, attendees will be
asked for a $2 donation for entrance to the Expo. It's not much, and we feel
justified to ask for an exchange of energy to match the energy and love
expended by volunteers of our network. Here's a short list of what your $2 gets
you: door prizes every hour, free presentations, networking with old friends,
latest in holistic products, live music, and you can purchase great beverages
and lunches right in the Pavilion.
If you are interested in what you
can learn about your health care issues and/or would like to improve the
quality of life through a healthier life-style, we urge you to see what your
community has to offer at the Expo. Your body/mind/spirit can take the day to
find pampering, thought provoking ideas and an energized spirit. The early
response from health practitioners and purveyors of a great assortment of
holistic care essentials has been heartening. We expect to fill the Pavilion
with approximately 50 exhibitors offering a great variety of services and
products supporting a healthy lifestyle.
As always space is limited. Remember
last year? So, if you have a service or product that would be of interest to
the growing Cultural Creatives segment of the Western Slope population, you
need to submit a registration to reserve your booth at the Expo. Registrations
received by February 15th will be listed in the official Vendor's Guide that
will appear in the March issue of Connections. Don't have a registration? Look
on Page 2 for a 2005 Expo Registration Form, and you can reserve your space at
the Expo.
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WHO ARE THE INDIGO CHILDREN? The New Generation has arrived...
by
Laurel Ann Browne
The
Indigo children began arriving on this planet beginning in the early
1970’s-1990’s. They come with full conscious awareness of who they are. They are extremely gifted, creative,
psychic, and intelligent beyond their years and are highly advanced spiritual
beings and very compassionate. They have come to teach us about ourselves. This
spiritual evolution of the new children of the “indigo” color has been given
this title primarily because they have a very high frequency and very
psychic. At an early age they are
seeing “auras and angels”. They “know”
the truth. Honesty is a high priority
with them and they do not conform to dogma, past disciplinary methods or
unfairness. These highly advanced souls come to teach about forgiveness and
love, yet they have not been recognized by society, parents, teachers,
caregivers, or professionals until now.
Researches by many professionals, from many countries are beginning to
see a behavioral pattern globally. Some
have been exasperated because these children do not respond to the tried and
truth methods of the past. They get
bored easily because they are so bright they are way beyond us. We have those troubled unrecognized children
who have become the Ritalin generation because of their misdiagnosed Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD) as we didn’t know what to do with their hyperactivity
(boredom). We did not know how to
create an environment to address their special needs of creativity or
advanced technology, and so our
brightest kids have turned to drugs and alcohol to escape our ignorance. Because they come with a “knowing” they are
sometimes called “systems busters”.
They do not comply with the norm.
Can we really be seeing human evolution in our kids today? Counselors, teachers and parents cannot help
but notice emerging patterns of behavior and are reporting on it. This is not an American phenomenon but research
and now recognition have been seen on three different continents. It seems to go beyond cultural
barriers. It has escaped mainstream
attention due to the fact that it is just too “weird” to consider a paradigm of
human psychology, which considers humanity as a static, unchanging model. Society tends to believe evolution, but only
in the past tense. The thought that we
might be seeing a new Human consciousness slowly arriving on the planet NOW
manifested in our children, goes way beyond established conservative
thought. However, as more documented
research and evaluations are assessing and reporting, new attitudes of
understanding are emerging from professionals, these observations and different
solutions are beginning to help aware teachers and parents. Great changes are taking place with our
children and they are leaving us behind.
The question, how do we teach, love and guide our children to their
highest calling. There are some
emerging answers to these challenges.
You cannot lie to these children, they “know” the truth; these new
powerful children are emissaries from heaven.
They do not respond well to dogma or old fashion “spare the rod, spoil
the child” definitions of punishment. New kinds of problems beset both parents
and teachers alike but it is we the community and society at large that has to
address the overwhelming propensity in a manner much different than legally
drugging our children! Vast sweeping
social change has to start inside the mind and heart of one person at a
time. The Indigo children are an
integral part of the positive transformational shift of the new millennium –
and this celebration of them is one we hope you will share in. Hope is on the way. Now with the help of notable authors,
academic contributors, day-care workers, PhD and MDs who deal with these
children every day have written some profound solutions and acknowledgments.
They give advice about new parenting and teaching techniques. These wise Indigos are first and fore most
spiritual, creative, psychic and intellectually advanced way beyond their
years. They just don’t respond like
children of past generations and must be celebrated; we must create an
environment conducive to their special needs.
We can only do that with combined group knowledge in the process of our
own learning. Now there is information:
beginning with the first book called “The Indigo Child” by Lee
Carroll/Jan Tober. This is a MUST for all parents and teachers. Now when your child is seeing angels there’s
a website you can go too hosted by Doreen Virtue,
PHD-http://www.AngelTherapy.com. There
are a host of informational websites given at
http://www.indigochild.com/links.html.
Many books include the solutions to violence, ADD, Anger and the
Indigo. Indigo Connections and
Resources to other parents, teachers and the research staff in the New Magazine
“Children of the New Earth” http://www.childrenoftheearth.com/ Now there is an
Indigo Forum created for the Indigo children to participate in. A forum with
others who have the same questions, they need a place to talk about it, with
others who understand. Maybe it will
help US to understand. We are open to
forming a support group to those in Montrose.
Indigos require a special kind of freedom, we can learn together how to
create the essential elements necessary for creating a nurturing learning
environment for the children of the new earth.
Please contact: Laurel Ann Browne,
Visionary Counseling 970-249-1345 for information and/or interest in forming
this support group.
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How Do You Measure Your Time?
by Jill Burkey
The new year is upon is, and I still
find it hard to believe the first digit starts with a 2, let alone ends in a
5. Maybe time started to fly for me in
the midst of all of our moves, the death of my father-in-law, and the beginning
of our family. Or maybe, according to
my husband's theory, as we get older, time seems to go by faster because one
year is much less of a percentage of our age than when we were 2, 3, or even 4,
when one year was one fourth of our entire life. As we get older, we see enough summers and winters pass, and we
go through the routine of living long enough that we expect what's coming next
with anticipation while at the same time knowing how soon it will be over. On one hand, we begin to relax about the
passing of time, and know (or at least think or hope we do) that there will be
other birthdays, other holidays, other chances. We also learn that tomorrow won't come any faster just because we
might wish it so, or because we are looking forward to it. On the other hand, we become more stressed
about our great enemy time, and how it slips by so uncontrollably without us
cramming enough production into it.
It shocks me to think I will have a
kindergartner in 2006, only one year away!
There are times I wish so much for that day to come, but I know once
it's here I will want to rewind the clock.
Motherhood is a cruel plight, making us love our children tremendously,
while at the same time making us crazy from all its demands. If only it could be a little more balanced
and a little less intense. But, alas,
this is my life for now, and back to the big picture of things, this period
when they are very young will only amount to around ten percent of my life if I
live to be 80. And really, when it
comes down to it, what an educational and enjoyable ten percent of my life it
can be, if I keep the right attitude about it.
No matter how you view your time, go
forth and enjoy the new year, a new chance, a clean slate, an opportunity to
get things right. To me, it's not
really about making resolutions, although goals are important. It's more about changing your state of mind,
being open to your life and all the promise that lies ahead. You will only get one chance at 2005. Make the most of it!
Jill Burkey is a freelance
writer and stay-at-home mother of 2 young children She has a B.S. in English, Business, and Secondary Education from
Nebraska Wesleyan University and provides professional writing services through
Word Wise, Ink. She can be reached at
255-7348 or at
burkey@frontier.net.
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Yoga for Every Body
by Lynda Alfred
In these cold winter days, we often
think of hibernating, of retreating.
It’s a time to go inward, a time to take stock of where we are on our
path and where we want to be. It’s the
new year, the time we set our resolutions, our goals for the year. It’s the perfect time for yoga!
Yoga is an ancient art, science and
philosophy that’s perfectly suited for the challenges of our times. Yoga originated in India several thousand
years ago. The word “yoga” comes from a
Sanskrit word meaning “union.” The
practice of yoga unites the body, mind, soul and self.
At Uncompahgre Yoga Circle, we
practice hatha yoga in the tradition of B.K.S. Iyengar, a living yoga
master. Iyengar yoga builds strength
and stamina and increases flexibility.
At the same time it relieves stress and teaches us to relax deeply. Iyengar yoga focuses on moving the body into
its proper structural alignment to improve our physical and mental wellbeing.
Yoga is wonderful for just about
everyone’s needs and goals. Yoga can
challenge the strongest athlete. It can
help students regain strength and mobility after an injury, surgery or illness. It can move you forward on your path towards
feeling stronger, energized and more alive!
Yoga works on many levels. In yoga class, you will find and work
muscles you never knew you had! Yoga
can be a critical component in rehabilitating a knee injury and alleviating
back pain. It is great for slowing
osteoporosis and lowering blood pressure. Yoga also works on a much deeper level, boosting your immune
system, lifting depression, and expanding your lung capacity so your breath is
calming and opening.
Here’s what some of my yoga students
have to say about yoga in their lives:
“I am so much more centered. It is easier for me to handle my life’s
stresses.”
“Yoga has relieved my chronic and
debilitating sacro-iliac pain.”
“My golf swing – and my
concentration – is so much better!”
“My balance is so improved! I can cross a stream from rock to rock
without falling in!”
“I’m convinced that yoga is the
fountain of youth!”
Yoga’s balancing poses, backbends,
forward bends and twists teach the body to be steady and centered. Even though so many of us love yoga and
stick with it year after year because it feels great and it’s a lot of fun, I’m
convinced that yoga’s effects on the body are a metaphor for its greater
impact. As one of my teachers recently
said, “Yoga changes your body, so it changes your mind. It changes your perceptions and expands how
you see the world.” Yoga opens your
mind and your heart to your limitless potential.
Lynda Alfred is a certified Iyengar
yoga instructor with nine years of teaching experience. Lynda teaches at Uncompahgre Yoga Circle at
310 South Ninth Street in Montrose and can be reached at 275-0109.
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ReConnections: A Look Back
The heritage of The Whole Life
Network from the pages of Connections.
One Year Ago**"The 10th Annual Whole Life
and Learning Expo, A Journey into Conscious Health and Learning (formerly the
Health and Wellness Fair), will be held this year in Delta at Bill Heddles
Recreation Center on March 13th."
**Edith Johnston wrote concerning
the new year, "Life continues to happen.
Change is inevitable. We
experience transitions from moment to moment.
Like the waves of water we can experience a gentle slapping at the shore
or a tumultuous crashing on the rocks."
Five Years Ago**"On March 4th, The Whole Life
Network will be presenting the 6th annual Health & Wellness Fair at the
Montrose Pavilion."
**Tricia Joy defined green building
design as "any form of design that minimizes environmental destructive
impacts by integrating itself with living processes."
Ten Years Ago**"Be sure and stop by The
Whole Life Network's Health & Wellness Fair on Saturday, January 28th, from
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Friendship Hall, 1001 N. Second St., at the Montrose
County Fairgrounds."
**"Bill Leyva, M.D. has this to
say on traditional medical practice in the U.S., "For years people have
given away their power to the medical profession, including their right to make
their own decisions about their health care as well as their responsibility for
staying well through healthy lifestyles."
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Peaceful Contributions for the Soul
by
Kathy Gates
The time of winter is upon us, white
is the color of winter snow. The white stars in the night sky, and the white
hairs that tops the heads of the most respected elders.
The color white can assist you in
cleansing, renewing, and purifying your mind, body and spirit.
This color encourages you to reflect
on yourself and your connection with spirit. It aids inner growth and profound
transformation.
Meditation
(do not drive while meditating)
Take some deep belly breaths, listen
to the sound of the breath as it breaths in through your nose and out through
your mouth. Know that this is the
breath of your life and all life. This breath is sacred and is shared by all
people, the animals, and plants, by the oceans and streams. Those who fly and
those who creep and crawl.
In your mind, imagine the beautiful
diamond like glistening snow as it falls from above. These are the pure white
flakes that cleanse the earth. Bringing
us freshness, wholeness, and purity. Breath this cleansing, refreshing breath
into your body. Feel the sparkling
spirals of pure energy as it moves through Your being. Feel it pouring out like
the white stars tipping over and spilling, from the dark sky. Feel it moving
from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. See it pour out of the tips
of your fingers and down through your legs and out through your toes. Out of
you and onto the earth. See the earth being cleansed along with you.
Focus on this feeling of newness of
renewal. Letting go of anything that no longer serves your higher purpose. Love is life. Cleansing your body with the breath. Loving yourself and loving your life.
Take your time until you feel
refreshed and a warm sense of peace comes over you.
Come back slowly. Take time to give gratitude to the winter
snows, the sacred white flakes that cleanse and renew our earth. As the season
of winter renews life on our planet, it is our responsibility to renew
ourselves. We can enjoy another prosperous New Year and walk in the beauty of
all creation.
Join us for Saturday sessions from
10am-2pm
Wednesday sessions from 1pm-4pm
Or private sessions upon request-Call
Kathy Gates 856-7665 or 234-2454
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Healing With Color
© Anne Calzada Herbalist
Happy New Year to all! With a new
cycle beginning, it is nice to try new things; it's like adding a little color
into our lives! The use of color for attaining balance is an old art. Not only
is color beautiful it can heal as well.
Color is light vibrating at different
frequencies. We know that the body retains seven main energy centers known as
chakras. The word chakra is Sanskrit, meaning "wheel of light". This
system was originated in India. Each
chakra has it's own color and correlates both physically and emotionally. The
first book written about healing with color was published in 1878 by Dr. Edwin
Babbitt.
Dr. Dinshah P. Ghadiali, an Indian
physician created a system of colored lights known as spectro-chrome. Edgar
Cayce, the famed psychic was known to recommend color for healing in his
readings. Aura Soma is of eastern origin and involves the use of colored glass,
essential oils and plant extracts. There is also the use of color-puncture.
Similar to acupuncture, but using focused lights on acupuncture meridians.
Color is transformed in the retina via the photoreceptor cells and then
released as electric impulses that go to the brain, therefore stimulating
response. Using color consciously is fun and effective. You can correlate
through the charkas (match the color of the chakra that you are working with)
wear colored clothing, use color in your home, used colored candles, wear
certain gemstones, use specific essential oils or flower and gem essences, take
colored baths (available at health food stores or metaphysical shops), eat
certain colored foods or even make your own color water. To do this choose your
colored glass, fill with water and set in the sunlight for about 4 hours, bring
in and drink in the color ray. Here is a very brief listing of the basics.
Red - brings energy, passion, courage and invigoration.
Builds blood, raises low blood pressure, correlates to the male reproductive system,
physical stamina and grounding.
Foods - cranberries, pomegranates, apples, red peppers,
beets and meats.
Gemstones - rubies, bloodstones and garnets.
Orange - brings enthusiasm, communication,
creativity and motivation. Strengthens the bladder, kidneys and correlates to
the female reproductive system.
Foods - oranges, yams, carrots, and
pumpkins.
Gemstones - carnelian, tiger's eye and
sunstone.
Yellow - brings wisdom, optimism,
cheerfulness, intellect and mindfulness. Stimulates the lymphatic system, liver
and gall bladder, the stomach and pancreas. Clears the mind.
Foods - corn, squash, bananas, yellow
peppers and nutritional yeast.
Gemstones - citrine, gold, topaz and yellow
tourmaline.
Green - Brings balance, harmony, growth
and calming. Stimulates immunity, balances the lungs and the cardiovascular
system.
Foods - avocados, grapes, broccoli,
greens, green peppers and spirulina.
Gemstones - emerald, malachite, jade and green
tourmaline.
Blue - brings, calm, sedation, expression
and communication. Soothing to the throat, hyperactivity, cooling and
anti-inflammatory.
Foods - blueberries, blue corn, blue
potatoes
Gemstones - sapphire, lapis and blue
tourmaline.
Purple - brings intuition, psychic
faculties and higher faith. Balancing to migraines, neurological disturbances,
eyes and sinus.
Gemstones - sugilite and amethyst.
Be creative and perceptive as you
discover the wonder of color!
Anne Calzada is a
Certified Herbalist and founder of Healing Heart Herbs. Her products can be
found at Food For Thought in Ridgway and at other fine natural health outlets.
For consultations or classes she may be reached at 626-5663 or by email
annecalzada@aol.com).
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Indigo - The Movie
Whole Life Network Release
"INDIGO" won the Audience
Choice Award at the 4th annual Santa Fe Film Festival. It was selected on the
basis of ballots filled out by more than 1,000 filmgoers, many of whom came
from out of state specifically to see the film made by Steven Simon, James
Twyman and staring Neale Donald Walsch
in the lead role. "INDIGO" is about gifted children who can
communicate via extrasensory means and how they are able to work with
disbelievers and, in time, win them over. (For more detail on these special
children, please read the article on page # 3 by Laurel Anne Browne.) Simon is
also the producer of "What Dreams May Come" and "Somewhere in
Time". "INDIGO", he said, was meant to be "a movie that
hopefully makes people feel better about being human and shows who we are and why we are here". Indigo Day world wide is Saturday, January
29, 2005. ALL tickets are $10.00. You can purchase advance tickets, which is
highly suggested as showings are selling out.
In our area, “Indigo” will be shown at the following locations:
The Center of Religious Science at
7th and Howard Street, in Delta, CO - wide screen viewing, comfortable seating,
and wheelchair accessibility, Saturday, Jan. 29, at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 P.M. and
again on Sunday, January 30, 2005 at 2:00 P.M. Phone for tickets: 970-874-3425,
or Rev. Kay Spinden 970-872-4716 or Leta Lopez
970-874-3926.
Global Heart Spiritual Center at
1622 Glenwood Ave. in Grand Junction -
Jan 29 at 1:00 – 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. and Sunday Jan 30 at 3:00 and 6:00 p.m.
Phone for tickets: Valerie Trophy 970 242-2043.
Community For Spiritual Awareness. Showing at Red Arrow Conference Center,
Montrose - January 30 at 1:00 p.m. Phone for tickets: Reverand Arlyn J.
Macdonald 970 252-0908. Please see ad
on page #3.
These community leaders are showing
"Indigo" in support of independent films and filmakers with
alternative movies that lift our hearts and spirits to higher realms.
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Spiritual Healing
by Kate Lee
The Grandmothers gave me the name,
“Whispering Rainbow Woman”. Everyday I am grateful for their influence in my
life. They continue to guide me to places where I can serve humanity and Mother
Earth.
The human heart is the gateway to the
Universe within and the “All That Is”.
Each one of us has a sovereign connection to the Divine because the
Divine resides in us. Through the
healing work I have done and the training I’ve had, my connection to source has
gotten stronger, my life healthier and my dharma more clear and
fulfilling. I have received much
training, experience, knowledge and love on my Spiritual Path. One of my greatest joys is sharing what I have
gained. Healing Sessions, Metaphysical
Classes, lectures, workshops and Ceremony are tools for sharing I utilize. The
work is designed to help folks in becoming more Self-empowered, Self-actualized
& Self-aware.
As we develop a broader and more confident
sense of Self; we also become tools for the Divine to help heal Humanity,
Mother Earth and bring more light to this dimension. During the times of change
it is so important for each one of us to strengthen our connection within to
the “All That Is”. As our Divine
connection to Spirit is strengthened we reflect a greater truth and love to
those around us. They become inspired to enhance their connection to the
Universe within and so on, the chain reaction begins.
My name is Sofia Katherine. I came in under
the sun sign Capricorn in the year of the Water Dragon in the San Francisco Bay
Area. I was teenager in the ‘60’s – and “experienced” fully the diversity of
the era.
For almost 30 years my Spiritual/Healing
path has guided me to many teachers, masters, classes, courses of study,
ceremonies, training, initiations and experiences. I am certified as a Healing
Facilitator in several modalities; I have a degree in Metaphysics; I am a
Clairvoyant and facilitate Spiritual-Healing sessions. I have followed the
Native American Ceremonial Path since 1993 and continue to participate, support
and facilitate ceremony. I have studied Herbology and make plant medicines; I
create chakra-balancing jewelry; and paint my Universal visions and galactic
travels.
My purpose on the planet at this time is
to assist in the consciousness awakening that is occurring within the
collective conscious of humanity. We
are awakening to higher levels of awareness. One of the ways I am assisting is
through the healing work I facilitate. As the many levels of Self are cleared and brought into balance as
a result of the healing sessions, the individual has a greater connection to
their Higher Self, their Soul’s purpose this lifetime and the true desires of
their hearts.
Healing Sessions last from 1 1/2 to 2
hours. Classes and Workshops are on a sponsored basis.
Please call or email Kate Lee for more
information and to schedule appointments.
970-626-5220 or sofiakatherine@yahoo.com
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Massage Therapy: A Way to Defy Gravity
by Tria Eshelbrenner
Over the course of time, gravity literally
weighs upon us all. It pulls our heads and necks forward and down. The back and
neck muscles then try to compensate by pulling in the opposite direction to
hold the head, neck and trunk up. We
end up fighting an ever losing battle. … especially those of us who can stretch
and stretch without ever becoming more flexible. There is hope for all ! ! A form of massage called structural
integration can "strip" these muscles out, allowing for more
flexibility, increased range of motion and also allowing the body to come into
a more correct posture ( a posture where there is the least amount of strain on
muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones ).
Here's a piece of trivia for you... a
single muscle fiber c<br>an stretch 150 times it's original
length. It is the coating over these
fibers (and the entire muscle) that keeps it from stretching. This coating is called fascia.
Now we get to the good stuff! Structural integration can soften, stretch
and reorganize this tissue called fascia.
The reorganization of fascia allows muscle to be placed in a position
that is in better harmony with gravity.
When we are in better harmony with gravity we naturally have more
energy, and more energy is definitely a GOOD thing. The possibilities are wide open as to what a person could do with
more energy. . . it's a fun thing to ponder.
Tria Eshelbrenner
Massage Therapist (970) 596- 8247 is aboard member of the Whole Life Network
and operates Better Bodyworks in Montrose.
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The Need for the Divine Feminine
by Jerry Overton
I'm currently reading Sue Monk
Kidd's self-revealing book entitled The Dance of the Dissident Daughter-A
Woman's Journey From Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine. I had read her
subsequent book, The Secret Life of Bees, and had, quite literally and
unashamedly, cried all the way through it! So, I wanted to know more about her
personally, because I was curious as to how someone I'd never met could move me
so deeply through her writing. What had been her own journey, and how had that
journey formed and shaped her in ways that could elicit that kind of power in
her writing? And why did that particular story touch me so?
To be brief, Sue had been a
life-long Southern Baptist, traditional wife and mother, and a successful,
self-employed Christian writer-one who never questioned her personal,
religious, or spiritual formation, but simply accepted it, as did most in her
circles. That is, until she had a very real birthing dream, in which, to her
amazement, she gave birth to herself, alone on the beach. At that precise and
profound moment, her real-life awakening began.
Slowly, and sometimes reluctantly,
she began to pay attention to the ways in which her feminine soul had been
dispossessed by the religious, as well as secular, patriarchy in which she'd
been reared. Through a series of further, rather painful, awakenings, she came
to realize that she had become thoroughly and rather systematically severed
from the Divine Feminine, that inner repository of natural feminine instinct,
guiding wisdom, and deep source-everything that keeps a woman powerful and
grounded in herself, complete and connected to all that is. She began to
rethink the life she had lived as a "man-made woman," and through a
series of gut-wrenching and terrorizing encounters began to reclaim her divine
feminine soul.
As I read her account, I began to
realize why her writings touch me so deeply. They remind me, at the core of my
being, that as a male, I, like she, have also been systematically severed from
my Divine Feminine. Patriarchy has done its intentional and unconscious deed on
me, too, and has taken away those necessary feminine aspects that would enable
me to be fully human and alive, with a full range of emotions, feelings,
instincts, power, centeredness, and connection to the whole of humanity. While
reading The Secret Life of Bees, I found myself yearning for, craving to the
point of tears, the unforgettable sense of caring, loving, nurturing, committed
bonds revealed by the deeply feminine souls of the women in that story-and
severely saddened that I might never have it.
While it's been thought that men
were the "lucky" ones, to have been born male, and to have the
"advantage" of patriarchy behind us, we suffer from it perhaps as
much as do women. It just shows itself in different ways-like never being able
to cry even as our throats choke back the tears, or being out of touch with the
tenderness that then turns to stifled fear in our hearts, or having to always
be in charge and make those all-important decisions when we are scared stiff
and don't have a clue what to do, or an obsession with guns that we think will
make us powerful or safe or free, or those unexpressed feelings that rot into
rage and sometimes abuse, or the unconscious way that we defer the love and
care-taking of our children because we think we have to work ourselves to
death. Or a million other ways that cause our hearts to hurt, our minds to
fray, our spirits to shrivel, and our souls to become dry as dust. No wonder
men often wind up hating and berating women-especially the ones who, knowingly
or not, raised them up to live without a feminine soul.
And what's worse, such devastatingly
brutal patriarchy is actually encouraged and considered normative in males from
the point of birth! Any trace of feminine soul is stamped out at once-by both
our mothers and our fathers-and seen as "sissy" or "queer."
It's all such a vicious cycle-men's fear-driven patriarchy, co-opted by women,
then perpetuated by both on all who come after.
As men, we need our connection to
the Divine Feminine every bit as much as do women, and we need courageous women
like Sue Monk Kidd who have made that journey and can help us claim it. And we
need to stand with the women in our lives as they get it too, especially since
women do all the child-bearing and most of the child-rearing, and can pass on
the patriarchy without even knowing it.
So, pray with me that all of us may
come to our own awakenings as to the toll that unbridled patriarchy has had on
us. May we bravely and courageously confront it head-on and then do whatever is
necessary to claim our Divine Feminine and pass it on to our precious and
formative sons and daughters who will one day lead this world.
For given the mess the world is in
right now due to our present patriarchal "leadership", it may
otherwise soon be too late to save it as it looms on the brink of
terror-obsessed self-destruction.
Copyright 2005 Dr. Jerry D. Overton
Jerry is a marriage and family
therapist, a Master Certified Coach, and director of The Center for Personal
and Spiritual Growth, 600 South Park, Montrose, CO. He can be reached at
970-252-9311, and he welcomes your call!
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HEARTS
by Julia Gillett
The HEAling aRTS Co-operative - HEARTS - a
dynamic association of rare human beings committed to the awakening of our
innate health and wisdom is gathering momentum around bringing Digital Infrared
Thermal Imaging to our community. DITI, or thermography, is a non-invasive
procedure that photographs the physiology of the body based on body heat. It is
not radiology and has no side effects thus it is a valuable alternative to
mammography. One of the primary benefits of this procedure is that it can
reveal subtle changes in physiology that begin to occur years before an actual
disease state takes hold, offering the possibility of making choices and life
changes that can alter the biology before dis-ease becomes pathology. All women
can benefit from DITI breast screening however, it is especially appropriate
for younger women (30-50) whose denser breast tissue makes mammography less
effective and more painful. It is also a good choice for women of all ages who,
for many reasons, are unable (or unwilling) to undergo routine mammography.
Sylvia Philpy, a nurse
practitioner with Integrated Health Solutions in Colorado Springs, will be
providing DITI scans at the Wiesbaden in Ouray on January 29th and 30th, 2005.
If you would like more information about thermography or about the HEAling aRTS
Co-Operative please contact Julia Marie Gillett at 626-9758 or 318-0074 or
equanimous1@yahoo.com.
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Whole Life Network
Business Member Profile
Kalos Health Center
Whole Life Network Release
Many members and readers have
attended workshops presented by our business member, Dr. Catherine Saltzman of
the Kalos Health Center located in Southern California. Now we can be in regular contact with the
knowledge and intuitive abilities of this gifted healer. Starting
Nov. 23, Dr. Catherine Saltzman
will have her own weekly internet radio
show. Because it is on the internet, it
can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
Listeners can tune in by going to www.achieveradio.com and following the
prompts. The show is called Heal The
Cause. Listeners will be able to call
or email in live and speak with Dr. Saltzman on the air. She will be giving cutting edge tools and
information from science, metaphysics, medicine and holistic healing to help
listeners solve their problems, heal their illnesses and transform their lives
to be the happiest, healthiest, most authentic persons they can be. She will also be selectively using her
ability to intuitively tune-in to a person's underlying core issues and the
causes of their illnesses -- so it will be an entertaining and informative
hour! She has already done several
shows which are packed with information and conversations with callers and it
is archived on www.achieveradio.com and can be accessed by going to the Archive
section. This new show will be
beneficial to many people and we would appreciate your help in getting the word
out.
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